Home Away From Home
by CritterKid
Summary: Everyone at the SGC gets an adventure this time.
1. Chaper 1

**Home Away From Home**

  
  


**by**

  
  


**CritterKid**

  
  


TITLE: Home Away From Home

AUTHOR: CritterKid

EMAIL: ckid1@juno.com

CATEGORY: H/C, Angst, Action/Adventure, Drama

SPOILERS: Entity, The Crystal Skull, Deadman's Switch, Urgo. Anything through season four is fair game.

SEASON / SEQUEL: Anytime during season 4 after Entity

RATING: PG-13

CONTENT WARNINGS:

SUMMARY: Everyone at the SGC gets an adventure this time.

STATUS: Complete.

ARCHIVE: Anywhere, just let me know where it's going.

DISCLAIMER: Any person, place, thing, object, etc. you recognize is property of Showtime, Viacom, Double Secrets etc. I am just borrowing them for a minute. This is for entertainment only, no money has been made from this. No copyright infringement intended and any other legal stuff that I missed.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my first fanfic so please don't be too hard on me. I would love feedback on this story. Good feedback will convince me to keep writing. Bad feedback will help me learn what I'm doing wrong so I can fix it (but there's really no such thing as bad feedback, is there.) I hope you like it.

  
  


Colonel Jack O'Neill yawned as he stepped into the briefing room. It was 07:30 and way to early for a mission briefing. As he sat down, he glanced at the three other people who made up his team. Major Samantha Carter, the team astrophysicist, sat next to him, reviewing her notes. Across the table Doctor Daniel Jackson, the team linguist and anthropologist, was helping himself to another cup of coffee. And then there was Teal'c, the Jaffa who turned against his God in order to join them and help free his people. This strange group made up SG-1. "So, what's everybody gonna be doing for the next few weeks?"

Sam glanced up from her notes. "I was planning on sticking around and helping out with the upgrades." 

"Carter, we've been going practically non-stop for the past three weeks and you expect me to buy that you _want_ to spend your vacation hanging out at the base installing new computers?" After the Entity had basically fried most of them, it was decided that the SGC would be upgraded. New science and medical equipment was being brought in, along with new computers for the control room. General Hammond had decided to shut down the SGC while the upgrade was taking place. As a result, everyone was getting a two-week vacation.

"Oh no sir. It's just that the current rumors are saying that someone was going to ask me to go to a cabin for some fishing and I thought I better find some excuse for saying no again." She laughed as she saw the hurt expression on his face. Daniel was chuckling too while Teal'c raised one eyebrow in understanding. "I'm just kidding sir. Actually Janet, Cassie, and I were going to go into Denver for five days then I have to come back here and make sure they plugged them in right. You know, all that technical stuff."

"Sam, that hardly seems fair. They can't expect you to give up your vacation time just because they don't know the difference between a modem and a monitor."

"Daniel, it's not like they aren't giving me a choice here."

"Really? What options did they give you?"

"They said I could either have a five-day trip and come back to make sure everything was working before anyone else got back or I could stay and help out the entire two weeks. It's the price I pay for being a genius."

Jack laughed at that one. "Okay Daniel. What were you planning on doing?"

"I was gonna take a vacation during the vacation."

"Oh. Hey Teal'c, what are you gonna do 'cause I know of a great place to go fishing."

"I was going to join Daniel Jackson on his vacation. He believes this is an excellent opportunity for me to see more of this world. I do believe we were going to visit a place with many yellow stones."

"'Yellowstone' Teal'c not yellow stones. It's a National Park in Idaho." 

"I see." The discussion was brought to a halt as General Hammond strode through the door.

"Take your seats people. I know you are all eager for your downtime to start. So let's begin. P4X387. Dr. Jackson, what is your assessment of the planet?"

"Well sir, the UAV didn't detect any signs of a city or town. There were no ruins or any obvious artifacts around the Stargate. I think it's safe to say the planet is uninhabited. There is a group of caves about half a klick from the gate. I would like to examine them. They might tell us if there was a culture that died out or if people just never settled there."

"Thank you Dr. Jackson. Major Carter your report."

"Sir the UAV picked up no radio waves or pollutants in the air confirming Daniel's hypothesis that the planet is uninhabited. Breathable atmosphere, temperate climate may be a tad on the cool side, and plenty of trees for Colonel O'Neill to look at. We did pick up some unusual readings from the planet that could be related to Naquadah. I recommend we do the standard plant and mineral survey."

Hammond glanced at the four people sitting around the table. SG-1 was his best team. The SGC had been quite busy these past few months, and SG-1 did more than their fair share of the work. Everyone needed a break, which was one of the reasons he decided to shutdown the base while the computers were being upgraded. He thought about the mission. It appeared pretty straitforward. Go in, get some samples, and leave. Pretty normal. And normal is just the type of mission SG-1 needed. 

"Alright. SG-1 prepare to go to P4X387 for a plant and mineral survey. You ship out at 10:00. Dismissed."

  
  


It was almost 10:00 when SG-1 walked into the Gate room. Once they were all there, the technicians began to dial the planet. "So Danny, are you gonna be bored on that planet with no rocks to look at?"

"Jack for the last time. They are called **ARTIFACTS**. And don't worry about not seeing any right away. If we need to, we can always dig some up."

"We?!? Who said anything about we." Just then the Stargate whooshed to life.

"SG-1. You have a go." General Hammond watched as SG-1 stepped into the wormhole. He had a very bad feeling something was going to happen. Something big. And when weird things happen, nine times out of ten it happens to SG-1. He silently wished them a safe and speedy return as he started climbing the stairs to his office.


	2. Chapter 2

SG-1 stepped out of the wormhole and immediately went on guard. After a few moments of scanning the area around the Stargate, they dropped their defensive pose and gathered together. "Jack, how long do we have here again?"

"We have two days if we need it but the sooner we get back the sooner our vacation starts. Why?"

"I don't know. It just looks like a really nice place for a change. It's peaceful. Nobody shooting at us or thinking we are Gods coming to fulfil a prophecy or anything like that. Just a nice, quiet forest."

"Just don't let your guard down Danny. Big animals like to live in nice quiet forests." He turned to Sam. "Carter where did the UAV go down."

"It should be pretty close to the Stargate sir. According to my calculation it should be about twenty meters South-west of here." She pointed in the general direction. "Unfortunately it looks like it went down in the forest."

"Alright campers. Me and Teal'c will get the UAV and do some scouting, find a nice campsite. Carter, you and Daniel head on up to those caves, pick up some samples on the way.

We'll meet back here at 13:00. Any questions? Good. Don't forget to keep in touch!" he yelled at their backs. "Man they don't waste any time. Okay Teal'c. Looks like it's just you and me. Heard any good jokes lately?"

  
  


"So Sam what do you think of this place?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. It almost seems too nice. Half the time I'm waiting for something big, ugly, and hungry to come charging out of the woods to 'meet and eat' us. The other half I think that we should be doing some soul searching, meditating, inner tranquility, new age stuff 'cause it's so peaceful." The two scientists had been walking towards the cave for about fifteen minutes when Sam wanted to stop and get a soil sample.

"You ready to go?" Daniel asked seeing that Sam was putting her sample case away.

"Ready when you are." She smiled as she stood up. "Daniel, do you think we'll find anything in the caves?"

"I'm not sure. Caves are usually one of the first places people use as homes. If there was a civilization here, I bet we find some remnants in the caves. If not, maybe this place is the untouched paradise that we've been looking for. Go back and tell Hammond what a horrible place this is, shanghai the gate again, and come back here and we'll be set for life."

Sam laughed and her smile grew bigger. "You have a very evil mind Dr. Jackson. But think of all the ice planets we'd be missing out on."

"No, no, no, can't have that. I don't know what I'd do without my monthly dose of hypothermia." Daniel smiled back as they both laughed. "Look. I think those are the caves."

"Yep. Let's go check them out."

General Hammond wasn't in his office for five minutes before the klaxons started blaring. "Unscheduled Offworld Activation. Defense teams to the Gate Room. Unscheduled Offworld Activation." He ran back down the stairs into the control room. He knew that no teams were scheduled to return yet. That meant that a team was early and early meant sick or injured.

"Is any team scheduled to return?" He asked the technician when he arrived. Below the Gate room was swarming with defense teams, all focused on the giant spinning ring of the Stargate. 

"No sir."

"Which teams are currently offworld?" He asked, again knowing the answer.

"SG-1 and SG-8. SG-1 isn't due back for two days and SG-8 isn't due back for six hours. Sir, we are receiving an IDC code. It's SG-8 sir."

"Open the iris and get a medical team in there." As he raced for the Gate room the iris retracted. Once he stepped into the room, five figures stepped out of the wormhole. He was relieved until he realized that one of them was unconscious and two more team members not far behind. "What happened?" he asked while he waved the defense teams down. Just then the medical team rushed into the room.

"We were on the planet for a few hours when Lieutenant Rodgers began to feel ill sir. He said it felt like the start of a cold and said he was fine so we decided to camp on the planet and head back at first light." Colonel Webber the team leader gasped. "When we were hiking back to the Stargate Vasquez and Adams started feeling sick. Rodgers collapsed about an hour ago and me and Williams had to practically drag all three of them for the last hour or so."

"General, it sounds like they might have brought back a bug." Dr. Janet Fraiser was overseeing the transfer of the sick men to the stretchers and heard Webber's story. "I recommend level three quarantine until I know what we're dealing with." And with that, Janet raced down to the infirmary.

"Very well then." Hammond looked up at the control room. "You heard the Doctor. Initiate level three quarantine. Lock up the mountain. Nothing in or out." With a nod the technicians began typing in commands. Hammond headed up to his office. He had a phone call to make.

It had been a frantic couple of hours for Janet. Not only did she have three men in the infirmary to tend to; she had to find an alien organism in their blood. She stabilized the three men quickly and turned her attention onto finding the organism. Once she identified it, her staff quickly began tests to determine what it exactly was. Two hours later, Janet was on her way to see the General. 

"Come In." General Hammond replied when he heard the soft knocking at the door. "Doctor Fraiser. Please take a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

"How is SG-8 doing?"

"They are all going to be fine. They are all showing symptoms of the flu; fever, chills, general icky feeling. Lieutenant Rodgers is showing the worst symptoms. He had a fever and was slightly dehydrated. We started an I.V. to replenish his fluids and started him on some antibiotics. It seems to be working, his fever is starting to go down and he says he is feeling better. Major Vasquez and Captain Adams were showing the same symptoms, although not nearly as severe as Rodgers. I've given each of them some penicillin and told them to take it easy. Colonel Webber and Captain Williams are not showing any symptoms aside from fatigue. I told them to report back immediately if they start showing any other symptoms."

"Any idea what's causing this?"

"I was hopeful that it was just the flu but unfortunately it is more complicated than that. It appears that they did bring back a bug. An alien organism was found in each of their blood samples. It looks like nothing I have ever seen before. It is bacterial, although it seems to have some properties of a virus. Like bacteria it can reproduce through mitosis. It is incredibly adaptive. It also has the ability to change itself easily and it appears that every generation is slightly different from the rest. Luckily it does not reproduce very quickly. The initial testing shows that it takes approximately forty minutes for a new generation to appear. However, like a virus, if it infects a cell it can use the cell to reproduce at a much quicker pace. These new generations have little if any genetic variation though. Also, like a virus it is able to live in almost any medium."

"Are we in any danger Doctor?"

"At the moment I don't think so sir. The organism itself reproduces at such a slow speed that the chances of it changing to a deadly form are very small right now. And the organisms that are coming from the infected cells are basically a replica of the organism that infected the cell, in this case something similar to the flu. I am more concerned for the long term effects this could cause. The more times the organism can reproduce itself, the more chance of becoming deadly. If the organism is able to leave the mountain, I believe there is a great chance of it leading to a Pan-Global epidemic that would rival the black death."

"Surely modern medicine would be able to stop it before it went that far."

"I don't think so sir. As I said the organism is extremely adaptive. Some strains have already adapted to penicillin. So far anything and everything my staff has tried to kill the organism has failed."

"Very well Doctor. Get back to the lab and see if you can make any headway into destroying the organism. I had better update the President. I'll call a meeting at 14:00 to discuss our options. Dismissed


	3. Chapter 3

  
  


Jack was bored. He and Teal'c had gotten the UAV, which was stuck in a tree, surprise surprise, back to the Stargate. Then they had scouted the surrounding area and found, get this, more trees. Well, Carter was right about the trees in the briefing. Maybe they'll be right about the caves being worthless and everyone will get to start their vacation early. "Carter, Daniel. Come in, over."

"Carter here sir."

"It's almost 13:00. What's your status?"

"We're at the caves sir. We've about finished what we can and then we'll pack it up and head back to meet up with you. We should be there in about thirty minutes sir."

"Alright. Don't keep us waiting too long. O'Neill out." Jack sighed and looked at Teal'c. "Well Teal'c. What should we do for thirty minutes?"

"If you wish O'Neill, I can tell you another joke."

"Oh no Teal'c. I think we can find something more productive than that. We could find an artifact for Danny, get some soil samples for Carter, set up camp. I think we are way to busy for jokes right now." It wasn't that Teal'c didn't have good jokes, the jokes just lost something in the translation. A very big something.

"I believe it would be most beneficial if we started putting the camp together O'Neill."

"I agree."

  
  


Sam and Daniel looked around in amazement. Somehow the camp had set itself up. "They must have been really bored."

"We were not bored Danny. I just don't think this is a time for joking around. Do you Teal'c?" Jack grinned as he saw the confused looks on the scientists' faces. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow in response. "Anyway, what about those caves. Please tell me there is nothing to see and you are ready to go home."

"Sorry Jack. There were a few old pictographs in the caves. It looks like basic cave drawings so they probably never developed written language."

"Any idea where they are now?"

"Sam thinks they were eaten by some big, ugly, hungry thing in the forest." They both turned to see Sam blushing. "Seriously, I doubt that their level of technology was anything greater than a stone so I don't think they left through the Stargate or build a ship. There were no pictures of anything like a Goa'uld so I don't think they were taken as host. I think they just died off, but I don't have a clue why. The real interesting thing is the caves themselves. They seem to be connected somehow, like a giant underground maze. I went as far back as I could, but it got to dark to see anything. Sam said we should go back with torches and then we can see if there is anything important about the cave system."

"Carter, how is the mineral survey going? Find any Naquadah on the planet?"

"There's a few little deposits, but nothing big yet. There are some interesting rock formations by the caves. I think they are made with a new mineral I have never seen before. I got some samples that can be analyzed back at the base. I just want to get a couple more samples from inside the caves themselves."

"Okay. We'll have lunch and then you two can go back to the caves and look around some more while me and Teal'c play a game."

  
  
  
  


It was 14:00 by the time General Hammond got off the telephone with the President. The President and his advisors had agreed with Dr. Fraiser's risk assessment of the organism. Based on her lab results, the President's scientific advisors had come up with only one option for containing the virus. And it was a doozy. Walking into the briefing room he looked around at the group assembled there. Dr. Fraiser was looking very tired and very frustrated. Colonel Webber and Captain Williams were looking better than when they came through the Stargate. They must have grabbed a shower, hot meal and a quick nap. Hammond quickly took his seat and started the meeting. "Alright people. Let's make this as fast as possible. Dr. Fraiser, any new developments with the organism?"

"Unfortunately not sir. The only thing we have tried that has had some success has been varying the amount of oxygen in the air. Apparently, the organism does need oxygen to live. We did manage to kill some by putting them in a vacuum. But so far nothing else has phased it." 

"Has there been any more cases reported?"

"Yes sir. Two people came into the infirmary with the symptoms. They both had the organism in their blood. Fortunately, for them we were able to catch it quickly. They both should be fine."

"The President agrees that containment of the organism is a top priority. His advisors have reviewed Dr. Fraiser's lab results and have come up with one option. Pending any further insight into the organism we were instructed to carry out their plan. Since no other option has been found we have no choice but to implement the plan immediately."

"What is the plan, sir?"

"The plan they developed is to starve the organism of the one thing it requires, oxygen. The oxygen pumps are to be turned off and the mountain will become one giant vacuum."

"What about the personnel here sir? We can't live without oxygen and we can't evacuate without breaking quarantine."

"You are wrong about that Colonel. We can evacuate while still leaving the mountain under quarantine."

"We are going through the Stargate sir?"

"That's right Captain. Our orders are to evacuate the base personnel through the Stargate with enough food and supplies to last until the organism has died out. Then someone will call us and we will come home."

"Sir, we will have to go to an uninhabited world. We can't risk bringing a plague to a whole society."

"What about P8X628? We found it over a year ago and have done several research missions there. We've never found any indigenous people or had any problems of any kind." Hammond nodded his head. 

"What about the SGC. Isn't it a little dangerous to leave the SGC abandoned while there will be people offworld?"

"We are going to leave the main computers on. Someone from the SGC will be able to monitor all gate activity from NORAD and be able to close or open the iris if necessary. The only team offworld right now is SG-1. Hopefully, they will return before we begin our evacuation. If not, we will contact them and relay the new address for them to gate to. All of our allies know that we were planning on shutting down for the next couple of weeks so we shouldn't have a problem with that. Any questions?" He looked around the table as they shook their heads. 

"Okay people, we have a lot to do and very little time to do it in. The longer it takes us to evacuate, the greater the risk from the organism. So let's get busy. Dr. Fraiser, I need you to get me a rough estimate of how long it will take for the organisms to die. Colonel Webber and Captain Williams, you will need to begin grouping people together and getting supplies for the little trip we are taking. I want to begin the evacuation at 17:00. Also Colonel, prepare to send a MALP through to the planet just to make sure it's still secure. Dismissed." Colonel Webber and Captain Williams nodded as they rose and left the briefing room. He motioned for Janet to stay behind for a second. "I would like your thoughts on this matter, Dr. Fraiser?"

"Well sir, number wise this couldn't happen at a better time. Because of the upcoming shutdown, the SGC is basically running on a skeleton crew. But this also presents a problem. Most of the people here are technicians getting things ready for the upgrade. They have never been through the Stargate and when they hear they'll be going, they are probably going to be a little nervous. Moral is going to be shaky at first. People will be scared and some may start to panic. Unfortunately, the most experienced people to help them through this are already on the surface. We only have two SG teams and a handful of trained defensive men that will be going with us. I would organize the men into groups with at least one person who is experienced offworld with each group. That should give the some greener men the proverbial 'security blanket'. Above all else they will look up to you General. If you show any signs of panic, the rest of the men won't be too far behind."

"What about SG-1?"

"I hope that they will be joining us as soon as possible. I don't know about you, but I sure know I'll be sleeping better once they are there to watch my back. And I'm not even bringing into consideration their knowledge and offworld experience, both of which will be crucial. But that does, however, bring up my next concern. Health wise, if we leave quickly enough the organism won't have a chance to change too much and we will at, the worst, have a flu outbreak on our hands and, at the best, only a few more cases. However, SG-1 rarely comes back from a mission unscathed. I'm worried that we will get to the planet, SG-1 will come there, they will be injured, and I won't have the right equipment to help."

"When we inform them of the plan and give them the new address, we will have them leave immediately. That way there won't be a chance for them to get hurt." Janet nodded, thankfully. "Anyway, about how long do you think we will be forced to remain on the planet?"

"It's hard to say really. I recommend that we clear all but three or four levels and turn those pumps off right away. Since we can't pump the air out like we normally would to create a vacuum, we'll have to wait for the organisms to use it all. Depending on variations in the reproductive speed, that should take about a week. Then we will need to stay away long enough for all the organisms to asphyxiate. Again depending on what adaptations they might make, I would say about five days for this part. Then we will want a safety zone in case any of the organisms develop a super adaptation for their oxygen deprived environment. That should take anywhere from a couple of days to a week. Then, just to be safe, I would sweep the base level by level to make sure none of the organisms survived before breaking quarantine. All in all sir, I would say to be prepared to spend three and possibly four weeks offworld."

"Very well. Dismissed."


	4. Chapter 4

  
  


General Hammond stepped quickly into the Gate room where all his men were assembled. Everyone immediately snapped to attention. "At ease people. Some of you may have heard rumors about an evacuation. I am now confirming these rumors. In order to eliminate the threat the organism poses, we will need to evacuate the SGC. Colonel Webber and Captain Williams have already made groups assignments. Get to know these people. They are your new best friends. Where ever one person goes, their group goes. Any questions?" Hammond looked over his troops as everyone shook their heads. 

"Each group has been given an assignment to facilitate this evacuation and to prepare the base for the standby mode it will be operating at for the duration of our offworld stay. Group leaders will co-ordinate with Captain Williams. Any questions?" Again everyone shook their heads. 

"Alright people. We will start shipping offworld at 17:00. That gives us a little over two hours and there is a lot of work to be done. Let's get to it!" He heard a chorus of "Yes sir" as he made his way up to the control room. "Colonel."

"Yes sir. The MALP is ready to go. I would prefer if we could send a team to do a quick visual check around the area, but I don't think we have enough people here to set up this evacuation as it is."

"I agree. We will need every able body person we can get and can't spare anyone. We'll just be forced to rely on the MALP data." With a curt nod he dismissed Colonel Webber and turned to the technician. "Begin dialing up P8X628 and send a MALP."

  
  


"So Daniel, any idea of what these pictures stand for?" Sam and Daniel had returned to the cave a couple of hours ago, equipped to go further into the cave than they did last time. So far Sam had gathered all of her samples and Daniel had seen pictures of what he could only call rocks everywhere he looked.

"Well, I still think they are rocks."

"Why did these people draw pictures of rocks on the walls of a cave?"

"I have no idea. Maybe their main tool was some sort of rock, or rocks were to represent their Gods in some sort of religious ceremony. I was hoping to find more drawings in the back of the caves, but it doesn't look like they knew how to draw anything else."

"So until you find a picture of a rock _doing something_ you have no idea what these pictures say."

"That's about it. Hey, what's so funny?" He turned around to look at his friend who was losing the battle to not laugh out loud.

"I was just thinking about what one USAF Colonel would say if he knew you were actually looking for a picture of a rock doing something." Daniel blushed a little at the thought before laughing himself.

"He would probably say something about me and rocks and have I really lost my mind this time before he gives me a lecture about how the sole purpose of a rock is to stub his toe on and hit him in the head."

"Can you imagine trying to keep a straight face while he went on about that?"

"Carter, Daniel do you copy? Over." The radio suddenly came to life. 

"Speaking of going on. Jack, this is Daniel. We read you."

Jack heard some laughing in the background. "Hey, what's so funny"

"Nothing Jack. What can I do for you?"

"You guys finding anything in there?"

"Oh yeah. And you'll never believe what it is."

"What?"

"Rocks!" Another burst of laughter came through the radio.

"Danny, what have I said about you and rocks? How much more time are you gonna need?"

"Were packing it up right now."

"Sweet. Vacation here we come. O'Neill out."

"I can't believe you did that." Sam managed to say in between gasping for breath, her face red from laughing so hard.

"Well I figured if I told him now he might have the rock ranting out of his system before we meet up. Then I won't have to listen to it on the way back."

"You're a sly one Daniel. Come on let's head back."

  
  


Jack just finished talking to Daniel on the radio. "What a weird conversation. That is why you don't leave scientists alone Teal'c." Any reply Teal'c was going to make was cut of by the spinning of the Stargate. "Expecting friends over for dinner, Teal'c?"

"I am not expecting anyone, O'Neill." They dove for cover as the Stargate finished dialing and opened. Tensing up, they aimed their weapons at the Stargate, ready to shoot any unfriendly aliens that might come out. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw a MALP emerge from the event horizon.

"SG-1 this is the SGC. Do you copy?"

"General, what's up with this. I know we aren't late again."

"No Colonel you aren't. But we have had a situation develop here."

"Bad situation, sir."

"Potentially bad Colonel. It seems that SG-8 brought home a visitor with them. To make a long story short it could turn deadly if it ever was released into the atmosphere and everything must be done to ensure that does not happen. To that end, we are trying a radical approach were we asphyxiate the organism."

"Sounds extreme sir."

"It is Colonel."

"So tell me General how do we asphyxiate the organism and leave our people safe?"

"Well Colonel we are evacuating all of the SGC personnel to P8X628. We've done a few research missions there and it seems safe so far. How is your mission going Colonel?"

"Fine sir. Me and Teal'c have been having a blast and Daniel and Carter just finished up at the caves and are on their way back."

"Good. As soon as Major Carter and Dr. Jackson return I want you to go on ahead to P8X628. We have already sent a MALP but I would prefer if your team could do a quick check to make sure the area is secure."

"Of course sir."

"Perfect. We will rendezvous with you shortly on the planet. SGC out." With that, the wormhole snapped shut.

"I wonder what that's all about?"

"I am uncertain. Perhaps they will be able to tell us more once we arrive at the planet."

"I hope so 'cause if it's just another way for them to take away my vacation..." Jack was suddenly interrupted as the ground began to pitch violently, causing him to loose his balance. Teal'c quickly reached out and steadied him although he was having a hard time staying upright as well. "Earthquake!!!" He barely heard himself over the deafening roar as the shaking became even more chaotic.


	5. Chapter 5

  
  


General Hammond stood in the control room while the technician dialed P8X628. The evacuation was ready to begin, but he had that feeling of impending trouble again. Maybe he was nervous about going offworld. After all, he had only gone offworld on a few occasions and had never stayed a night let alone a month. Maybe he was just concerned for the number of people who were going. He would never have let this many people go offworld at the same time without any real protection. Over thirty technicians or, scientists, as Colonel O'Neill liked to put it, with only three SG teams and a handful of trained defensive team members. 

Having three SG teams was being optimistic. After all, SG-8 had three team members in the infirmary recovering from the organism. That left SG-1 and SG-15. Although he had just talked to Colonel O'Neill, Hammond couldn't shake the feeling that they were having problems. If that was the case, that would leave the task of everyone's safety primarily to SG-15. One functioning team was standing between this group of people and any possible threats on the planet. That would give anyone a headache. 

"SG-15 you have a go." He watched while SG-15 went up the ramp to a new world. Even though the MALP said it was secure, there was no way he was taking the risk of it being a setup and the MALP sending back false images. It wouldn't be the first time. Once he heard the confirmation from SG-15 that the area was indeed secure he called for the evacuation to begin. He looked down to the Gate room to see people loading supplies on anything they could get their hand on. Food, clothing, tents, weapons and ammunition, medical supplies, and everything else they needed were being packed up and shipped to the new world. Pinpointing the cause of his anxiety, he reached for the radio. "SG-15. Have you met up with SG-1 yet?"

"I'm sorry sir, but it doesn't look like they are here."

  
  


Jack cautiously sat up as the earthquake subsided. It seemed that the ground had been shaking for hours, not just minutes, and he felt like a rag doll being thrown around. "Well that was fun." he muttered to himself as he looked around. He saw Teal'c picking himself off the ground. "Teal'c. You okay?"

"I am uninjured O'Neill."

"Carter, Daniel. Do you copy over?" Static. "Daniel, can you hear me?" More static. "Carter this isn't funny. Answer me." Still nothing.

He glanced over at Teal'c as realization swept over him. The caves! They were in the caves. Did they get out before the quake? Are they lying somewhere, injured, dying. "Teal'c, we have to get to those caves!" he shouted as he sprinted off, Teal'c close behind.

  
  


Oh man. Daniel blinked a few times, trying to remove the dirt from his eyes. He looked around and saw all the pictures of rocks. He slowly sat up while he tried to remember what was so special about rocks. Rocks were in the cave. He was in the cave. Cave. His eyes shot open as the pieces clicked. Caves. He was in the caves. There was an Earthquake. Then there was a cave-in. Sam pushed him out.... Sam!! He spun around so fast he thought his head would fall off. Rocks, rocks and more rocks. Then he saw her. She was buried by rocks. "Sam!" He weakly called out to her as he began to crawl over to where she was. "Sam." he called a little stronger. When he finally reached her, he quickly checked for a pulse. Thank God he thought as he felt a weak thump under his fingers. He quickly turned to the rock pile she was using as a blanket. He tried to move some of the rocks but he just wasn't strong enough. If only Teal'c was here. Teal'c! He quickly grabbed his radio. "Jack. Teal'c. Can you hear me?"

"Daniel is that you? Are you okay? Where are you? How's Carter?" Jack's questions came rolling out one after another. He was overcome with a feeling or relief when he heard Daniel's voice over the radio. Relief that quickly turned to dread as he heard his voice again. "Jack. We're still in the caves. There was a cave-in. Sam pushed me out of the way, but she's buried in the rocks. I think she's hurt bad. She has a weak pulse but I can't move the rocks to check for injuries." Daniel's voice was shaky.

"It's okay Daniel. You need to calm down. Stay with her. Me and Teal'c are already on our way. We'll get there soon, and we'll get her out. She'll be okay Daniel, but you need to calm down."

"Okay."

"Okay. Daniel listen to me. I need you to tell us exactly where in the caves you are." He listened as Daniel told them their location. "All right. We're almost there. Just hang tight Daniel."

  
  


"Just hang tight Daniel."

The words echoed through the caves. Hang tight. He could do that. That was about all he could do. Daniel looked down again at Sam. It was all his fault. If he hadn't insisted on going deeper into the cave she wouldn't be lying here right now. He again felt for her pulse, noticing how pale she had become over the past few minutes. He had to try something. He stood up and tried to move some of the rocks again, crying out in despair when they didn't budge. He was brought out of his frustration when he heard a small moan. "Sam?" He knelt down beside her as her eyelids began to flutter. "Sam?" he called again. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Daniel?" Her voice was quiet, barely over a whisper, But Daniel heard her clear as day.

"It's okay Sam. I'm here." He reached out and gently touched her face for reassurance. "Don't try to get up." he added when she started moving about.

"What happened?" Her voice was stronger now. That was a good thing, right?

"There was an earthquake and it caused a cave-in. You pushed me out of the way but you got caught by the rocks. How are you feeling?"

"Dumb question. What about the Colonel and Teal'c?"

"They're fine. They're on their way over here to get you out. They should be here soon. You just need to hang tight." Sam nodded her agreement.

  
  


Jack and Teal'c were out of breath by the time they reached the caves. They had made good time, Jack just hoped it was quick enough. Cautiously they entered the caves, keeping an eye out for falling rocks. Man this place was like a maze. Let's see. Daniel said right, right, left, then was it right or left at the fourth turn? Oh forget it. "Teal'c, can you track them in here."

"Indeed I can." Teal'c stated as he headed deeper into the caves. Jack took off after him. After what seemed like an eternity, the pair finally found their teammates. 

"Oh God!" Jack quietly spoke as he saw the scene. Sam was literally buried with little more than her head and left arm sticking out. Daniel was valiantly trying to move some of the smaller stones, but there was no way he could move the bigger ones. Quickly brought out of his shock he headed toward the pile. "Here Daniel, let me and Teal'c help you."

"Sir?"

He looked down, surprised to see a pair of scared, slightly dazed blue eyes looking up at him. "Carter. How you doing?"

"Peachy, sir."

"You just relax. We'll have you out of here in no time." Jack immediately joined Teal'c, who was using his staff weapon as a fulcrum to move the bigger rocks. "So Carter, what hurts?"

"Nothing really. Well I do have a pretty big headache, but other than that I'm kinda numb." Jack froze as a disturbing thought came to him.

"Numb as in neck injury?"

"No. Numb as in numb. Don't worry, I can still feel my arms and legs. I've just been lying around so much they're starting to go numb." She suddenly gasped out in pain.

"Alright guys, we must be getting close to her. Take it slow and careful. We don't want to hurt her anymore." He turned to Sam. "This part might hurt a bit Sam."

"That's okay sir. I can hardly feel a thing." Jack would have believed her if her face hadn't gone even whiter and she wasn't clenching her teeth so tight. He quickly turned back to the pile of rocks. He didn't want to hurt her, but they had to get these rocks off her. He again joined Daniel and Teal'c in removing the rocks, his heart sinking as he recognized the red stain on some of the rocks. Blood. And way too much of it for his liking. 

"Daniel." They almost had Sam free. She was on the verge of passing out. Jack silently wished she would, desperately hoping to spare her some pain. "We're almost done here. Where's your equipment?"

"It must be buried too."

"Okay. I need you to go to the opening of the cave." He quickly held up his hand, stopping the protest he knew Daniel was about to make. "All of our equipment is at the mouth of the cave. You know the caves better than we do. We need the first aid kit. I need you to run and get it, along with anything else we might need. We'll hopefully have her out by the time you get back. Hurry." Daniel nodded in understanding and made a mad dash for the entrance, wishing he could run faster.

  
  


General Hammond looked around at the make shift camp. His home away from home for the next month or so. He had only been on this planet for about three hours, and things were going better than he thought they would. Immediately after everyone was through the gate he ordered Colonel Webber and SG-15 to survey the area, looking for any possible threats and any clues to whether or not SG-1 had been there. Meanwhile, Captain Williams, Dr. Fraiser, and himself were beginning to organize the camp. 

Much to their surprise and relief they found that most of the main research buildings were intact and they decided to make their camp right next door. Dr. Fraiser quickly claimed one of the buildings as her new infirmary and began setting things up for the few patients she still had. A second building was commandeered as a command center, while the last building was quickly being turned into a storage shed. He was even impressed by the professional attitude of the technicians. After a few moments of 'Oooh and Awww' they had quickly began to set up tents, unload carts, and everything else that needed to be done for their extended stay on the planet. Maybe things would work out after all. Now if only SG-1 would join them. 


	6. Chapter 6

  
  


Daniel reached the cave opening and quickly reached for the packs. He saw the first aid kit in with all their food. Rather than taking the time to dig it out, he simply grabbed the whole pack. He then grabbed some blankets and the canteens and raced back down the cave. As he approached his friends he breathed a sigh of relief. Teal'c was laying Sam down several meters from the landslide. Jack quickly motioned Daniel over. 

"Daniel, where's the first aid kit?" Daniel dug in the pack for a moment before handing it over to Jack. They then turned her attention to Sam. She was unconscious again. Daniel could see some blood trickling out from a couple of scratches by her right shoulder. Her right arm was hanging awkwardly, but Daniel didn't know if her arm was broken or if she dislocated her shoulder. Jack, meanwhile, focused his attention on her legs. Her left knee was swelling which meant she had probably sprained it. There was also a pretty deep gash on her upper thigh and another on her lower calf which were bleeding steadily. Thankfully her other leg didn't look as bad. It had a few scrapes, but nothing to life-threatening. 

"Teal'c, we'll need some water to clean her up with." Teal'c nodded and went to fetch the water Daniel brought. "Daniel, you take care of her shoulder. I think she's dislocated her shoulder so you'll have to find something to bind it with. You'll also need to bind her ribs. I don't think she could have that much weight on her chest without at least bruising some ribs. I'll take care of her legs. Let's get her washed up, bandaged up, and outta here before the roof collapses on us." 

Sam was slowly surfacing from oblivion. The first thing she became aware of was pain. Lots of pain. The second thing she realized was she could move again. She cautiously began to experiment with motion, slightly startled when strong hands began to hold her still. "Major Carter. You must remain still until Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson have tended to your injuries." Sam stopped struggling when the familiar voice penetrated the fog that had covered her mind. She knew that voice. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking in the dull light of the torches. She looked up and saw Teal'c, nodding her head in understanding and immediately regretting it when that small action sent new waves of pain through her body. 

Clenching her eyes tightly against the pain, she concentrated on listening. She could hear Teal'c telling her she would be fine and they would be home soon. She could hear the Colonel and Daniel discussing blood loss and shock but she couldn't quite figure out who they were talking about. After what felt like several minutes, the pain had subsided enough and she opened her eyes again. Teal'c was still by her side, but his attention was directed away from her. Curious, she looked in that direction and her heart almost stopped with the sight. Jack and Daniel were on their knees, their hands and faces covered with blood. What had happened! When had they gotten hurt? 

Ignoring her own pain, she started to get up, desperate to help her friends. Teal'c again tried to quiet his friend. "Major Carter. You must remain still. You will only hurt yourself if you continue to fight us." Sam heard the words again, but this time they didn't register, her panic filled mind unable to focus on anything other than helping Daniel and Jack. She began to struggle harder against the hands that were restraining her. Why weren't they letting her help? They were her best friends, her family, and someone was trying to keep her from helping them. With a sudden boost of energy she escaped the hands holding her shoulders and kicked out her legs. She immediately felt something in her leg tear as new waves of agony swept over her, sending her back into unconsciousness.

  
  


General Hammond was getting worried. SG-1 still hadn't shown up. Colonel Webber reported that there was no sign of anyone being on the planet for at least a few months, since the last time the SGC had a research team here. They had successfully set up the camp, had a duty roster compiled, set up guard shifts, and set up a defensive perimeter, all the while thinking the Stargate would start to spin and SG-1 would come flying out. Now it was night time on the planet, and despite his trust in that team, he was getting worried. 

What was keeping them so long? Surely, it couldn't have taken that long for Major Carter and Dr. Jackson to return from those caves they were looking at. At first he hoped that it had taken longer than planned for them to return and every time they tried to dial the planet they got a busy signal, the SGC had been forced to keep the gate open for almost two hours while they moved supplies through. As he stepped through and the gate was shut down, he kept expecting them to dial in at anytime. As more time passed with still no activity from the gate, he started feeling anxious. 

He thought back to the last conversation he had with Colonel O'Neill. Jack had said everything was fine. Was he lying? As quickly as he thought that idea, he dismissed it. If there was any danger to his team, Jack would have had them back to the SGC faster than Senator Kinsey could shut down the Stargate program. Maybe they returned to the SGC. No, that wouldn't explain why they still weren't here. Even if they did return to the SGC, the people up in NORAD would have recognized the iris code, opened up the front door for them, explained what happened, and sent them on their way. 

Did he give them the right address? Hammond suddenly felt a shiver of dread at that thought. What if they tried to come here but got stuck on some unknown planet? What if they were injured or dead and he told them the wrong address? No, he reasoned with himself, he told them the right address. Even if Colonel O'Neill somehow forgot, Teal'c was there and heard it too. Not to mention Dr. Jackson and Major Carter. No, between the four of them, he had no doubts that they would figure out where they went. He toyed with the idea of sending SG-15 to P4X387 to collect SG-1, but quickly dismissed that option also. They simply didn't have enough people here to send anyone out to look for SG-1. He would just have to hope that his best team could overcome whatever they had managed to get themselves into this time. His thoughts were interrupted when an airman suddenly burst into his 'office.'

"Sir, the Stargate is being activated." Hammond raced outside, arriving at the Stargate as the last chevron locked. Seconds later when four figures walked out of the wormhole, he felt his heart drop again. Instead of the very late SG-1, he saw four aliens walking towards him. They were approximately six feet tall and had very lean bodies. They wore some sort of robe that Hammond immediately associated with some sort of monk. Walking up to greet him, they pulled back their hoods, revealing a slightly bluish face crowned with silver hair. Bowing slightly, they spoke to him, their English somewhat surprising.

"Greetings. Are you here to partake in The Festival?"

  
  


Jack was getting nervous. He didn't like being in enclosed spaces, especially when the roof could fall on you. And he didn't like it when a member of his team was hurt. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the cave and into open ground, being tossed around was better than being crushed alive. First, though, they had to take care of Sam, even if it was just a quick fix. Get the bleeding stopped enough so we can move her, we'll deal with the rest outside. He glanced up at Daniel, grateful that it looked like he was almost done with her shoulder and ribs. Teal'c was still by her head, holding her still when she thrashed about. He returned his attention to her leg. He already did what he could for her knee and now he was concentrating on the deep gash in her thigh. "Jack, do you need a hand?" Daniel had already started coming down to where Jack was kneeling.

"Yea Danny. Start putting pressure here." Jack pointed to the laceration on her calf. "I almost have this one taken care of. Then we stop that one from bleeding and get the crap out of here." Daniel put his hand around the wound and pressed down tightly, wincing when he heard her moan. Jack continued as he finished tying her bandage. 

"I think she has already lost a lot of blood. We'll have to keep a careful eye on her, make sure she doesn't go into shock. We'll probably have to change some of these bandages before we start back to the Stargate, but I want to leave these blasted caves first." He moved down towards Daniel. As he began to apply a pressure bandage Sam started twitching again. 

"Sam, it's going to be okay." Suddenly, she started tossing. Jack was forced to help Daniel hold her still. His first thought was that she was going into convulsions. He glanced at her face and realized that she was conscious, or at least semi-conscious, and that she seemed to be fighting Teal'c. He quickly realized she was panicking, but before he could help Teal'c calm her down, his hands slipped and she burst up and just as quickly slumped down again. Jack, who was almost thrown off her, quickly rejoined Daniel before a red stain caught his attention. She was bleeding again, and from the gash he just barely managed to stop. "Crap!" 

Then the thing he most feared happened. The ground started to shake again. "Double crap!" he muttered to himself as the three men threw themselves on top of Sam in a valiant attempt to protect her from any more falling rocks.


	7. Chapter 7

  
  


"What exactly do you mean by The Festival?" After the brief shock at their first encounter, Hammond had led them back inside the control center and into the area that he adopted as his office. Dr. Fraiser, after hearing the news of their visitors, quickly joined him.

"It is The Festival of Life."

"I'm sorry, but we have never heard of this festival before. What exactly is it?"

"The Festival is where we return to our homeworld and give thanks for our continued survival."

"Your homeworld?"

"Perhaps I should explain. Firstly, I am Hdeon, the highest priest of the order of Mynecek. My people originated on this planet. For many generations my people took whatever they needed from the planet, with no regard for the balance of life. Gradually, the balance of life was upset. Eventually, it reached a point where the planet would no longer support my people. The air and the water became toxic to us, and we were forced to abandon our home and move to another one. When we reached our new home, we remembered the lesson of our homeworld. Our technology and society developed along a different path than before, a path destined to maintain the balance of life rather than upset it. With those new ideals, our society was able to flourish. Every five years our society gathers on the homeworld to pay homage to the sacrifice this planet made to help us become a better people. That is called The Festival."

"What exactly do you do during this festival?"

"It is a festival of life. All the noble families will bring there most prized possessions. They will be scattered all over the planet. This represents my people giving back to the planet. After several days, the harvest will begin. This will be symbolic of the planet giving to my people."

"How long will The Festival be going on?"

"Unfortunately, this world is still poisonous to us so we can only stay ten days."

"Hdeon, how many people come to this festival?" Janet quietly asked.

"Anyone can come to The Festival. Why do you ask, do you wish to participate?"

"As interesting as the idea is to me I was thinking along another line. I was thinking about why we were here."

"What do you mean, Dr. Fraiser?"

"The reason we are here is to stop an organism that could destroy our planet. The only way we could destroy it is if we left. We came here because we thought the risk was too great to introduce to another culture. I would hate to think that we might cause a plague on your world when your people come here for the Festival."

"You need not concern yourself with that. As I said, the planet is still quite poisonous for my people. Only a select few, the order of Mynecek, can survive on the planet without special equipment. And then we can only stay for ten days before the toxins become too much and we die. The rest of my people will need special equipment to survive on the planet during the festival. It is an extremely small risk that a plague could be caused, and one that my people are more than willing to take if the planet desires it. If you will excuse us, we have much work to do before The Festival can begin." With that, the aliens rose and left the building, on their way to The Festival grounds.

"What do you think about this festival, Doctor?"

"I have no idea, sir, but I sure wish SG-1 would get here.

  
  


Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c cautiously looked around the cave. Thankfully, this earthquake was not nearly as bad as the one before. The only thing that seemed to be coming from the ceiling was dust. Daniel quickly looked over Sam while Jack finished tying the bandages. Good, she didn't appear to have any more injuries. "All done. Let's go!" Teal'c bent down and began to carefully pick Sam up when suddenly he stopped. "Teal'c, what's wrong?"

"I hear something O'Neill."

"What?"

"I am unsure. It sounds like thunder."

"Teal'c. It can't be thunder. There wasn't a cloud in the sky."

"No wait Jack. I think I hear it too." Suddenly a low rumble echoed through the cave. As it got louder, the cave began to shake.

"Oh man. Another earthquake!"

"No. I think it's another cave-in. And it sounds like it's coming from somewhere up ahead." They waited for a few minutes as the roar grew louder and then gradually disappeared.

"Teal'c, go check it out." Teal'c nodded and took off toward the tunnel. A few minutes he came back, a grim look on his normally stoic face.

"Daniel Jackson is correct. Another cave-in has occurred. Unfortunately, it has blocked our means of escape from this cave."

"What!" both Jack and Daniel exclaimed at the same time. 

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. "Alright. Here's what were gonna do. We're gonna find some place to set up camp for the night and make sure Carter's okay. Then we are gonna find some way to get out of this place. Any questions, comments, or concerns? No. Then let's do it. Daniel, did you explore any more of this cave?"

"Yea Jack, but we didn't find anything interesting."

"Teal'c, you and Daniel do some more exploring. Try to find us a safer place to camp. Be back here in thirty minutes." Teal'c and Daniel quickly took off. Jack knelt down and checked over Sam's wounds one more time and before checking her pulse. Satisfied that she didn't seem any worse, he began to check their supplies. They had plenty of food, thanks to Daniel's quick grabbing technique, so they wouldn't need to ration it unless they were really stuck in here. Water might become a problem. Daniel had grabbed all of their canteens, but they had used almost a third of the water to clean Sam up. Unless they found a water source, they would need to start rationing water tonight. Daniel had also grabbed some blankets, so they shouldn't freeze. That just left medical supplies. They had already gone through a lot of bandages trying to get the bleeding stopped. And he knew from experience that Sam would be in pain when she woke up. Just how much pain he couldn't tell. He didn't know how long they would be able to stretch their medical supplies. He just hoped no one else got hurt. 

  
  


Janet Fraiser was starting to relax. Since they had arrived at the planet, there had been no new reported cases from the organism. It looked like they had managed to leave it behind in the mountain. The few people who were sick, were almost ready to be released. The visitors, she never did catch the name of their race, were quietly going about there business in the clearing on the other side of the Stargate. 

They were friendly enough people, but Janet couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding something. No, that wasn't it. It was more like they weren't telling them something. Something important. Anytime anyone from the SGC asked, they mentioned the festival, scattering possessions, the harvest, and other things they already knew about. Then they again reminded them that they were welcome to attend, respectfully bowed, and returned to the work they were doing, some sort of purification ritual or something. 

It seemed to Janet that they knew everything about the festival, except what was going to happen. She wished for the umpteenth time that day that SG-1 was here. Not that the little group of aliens was all that threatening, but more for her personal questions. Daniel could've spent five minutes talking to Hdeon and learned more than everybody here has in the last day. He could have explained to everybody exactly what was going to happen, why it was going to happen, and what to wear. Shaking her head in frustration, she turned her attention to her patients. 

"Major Vasquez, Captain Adams. You to are free to go. Take it easy for the next few days and come see me immediately if any of the symptoms come back. Lieutenant, if your vitals are still good in the morning, I can probably release you tomorrow." She smiled as the two Air Force officers quickly said goodbye to their teammate and whisked out the door. What was it about the infirmary that had everyone wanting to leave?


	8. Chapter 8

  
  


SG-1 was settling in for a very long night in the cave. Teal'c and Daniel had managed to find a large cavern. Teal'c thought that the cavern would be the best place to spend the night, and so the three men carefully moved Sam there. The cavern was pretty big, and it kinda reminded Jack of the cavern on P7X something something or, as Jack called it, the skull planet. They quickly got Sam settled, using the blankets to make a sort of mattress. Man it was hot in here. So much for freezing to death. Jack and Teal'c then started scouting the area, looking for any possible dangers. Satisfied that they were safe for the moment, they returned to the campsite. 

Jack was surprised to see that Daniel had also been looking around, and even more surprised, and excited, by what he saw. Daniel had found a spring. Teal'c quickly grabbed the empty canteens while Daniel dug around the pack for the purification tablets. Once that was all taken care of, they sat back and began eating a meal of chicken flavored field rations.

"So. Anyone have any idea what we're dealing with?"

"It appears that the ground is unstable O'Neill."

"Thank you, Teal'c, but I think that I had already figured that one out."

"This cave system must be extremely fragile Jack. Every time there is a quake a part of the cave falls in. That's probably why there's no one here right now. Everyone died from these cave-ins."

"If that's the case Danny, wouldn't there be big piles of rocks everywhere." 

"Who knows Jack. Maybe we haven't explored enough to see the big piles of rocks, or maybe something else happens in the caves and the rocks are moved. Maybe there are people here who move the rocks."

"If people did indeed live inside the caves, they would not live long. In such an unstable environment they would easily become the victims of the cave-ins, especially with no warning system."

"Teal'c is right. That must be why there are so many pictures of rocks on the walls. They were warning signs."

"Wouldn't a 'Caution Falling Rock' sign outside the entrance be better?"

"Maybe they never made it to the surface. Who knows what the environmental conditions were back then. Maybe the surface was inhospitable and the only refuge they could find was the caves. Then suddenly the earthquakes started and the caves started collapsing and they died out."

"Speaking of earthquakes, do you think we'll be having another one anytime soon?"

"No."

  
  


Sam felt like she was drowning in blackness. She could vaguely tell what was going on around her. Every time she tried to surface the pain kept pushing her back. She could hear voices around her, but couldn't understand what the voices were saying. Then she could feel herself gently being picked up before she slipped away again. The next time she surfaced, she felt something soft underneath her. Feeling stronger, she decided to try to open her eyes, but she was unable to move whatever was keeping them shut. 

She decided to focus her attention on sounds again. It had worked before, maybe it will work now. She heard the sound of water nearby, the echo told her she was in a very large area. And then she heard the sound of voices. Voices she knew. Her teammates. Making that mental connection gave her an energy boost. She tried to open her eyes again, this time getting them to crack slightly before they fell shut again. 

Frustrated, she turned her attention to the voices again. They were coming closer. She could hear what her teammates were saying. They didn't appear to be in any distress. Why did she think they were. She began to listen to their conversation. Caves, they were talking about caves. And rocks. What about rocks was so frightening? Memories of the cave-in came rushing back to her. She had to know if they were all right. Instead of trying to open her eyes again, she decided to focus all her energy on speaking. Listening to her friends conversation, she gathered up her strength and somehow managed to mutter one word, "No." Instantly they were by her side.

"Sam, can you hear me?"

"Major Carter, are you well?"

"Carter, open your eyes." 

Sam was overcome by the emotions that flowed from the three men. Deciding she needed to see them as much as they needed to see her, she tried to do the impossible again. She tried to open her eyes. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard of a task as she thought it would be, although she couldn't quite figure out why. Maybe her strength was returning, or maybe whatever had been keeping her eyes closed was gone.

"Carter, how are you feeling?" Sam gazed over to her CO. Jack had the unmistakable sound of relief in his voice, but concern was etched into his face.

Sam managed a single word in a raspy voice. "Thirsty." Daniel quickly fetched the canteen and gave her a couple sips. She wanted more, but knew that she shouldn't. Feeling somewhat stronger, she looked around at her friends. They were all covered with dirt, herself included, and Daniel and Jack had some blood stains on their clothes. "You okay?" Well, at least her voice was getting stronger.

"Yeah Carter. We're okay, and you'll be okay too."

"Do you remember what happened Sam?" When she shook her head he continued. "We were in the caves when an earthquake hit. There was a cave-in and you were buried. Jack and Teal'c came and got you out but before we could get to the Stargate there was another cave-in."

"How long?"

"You have been unconscious for about two hours Carter." She nodded while she shifted around, trying to get more comfortable. "Hey, you in much pain?" Jack asked when he noticed her biting her lip to stop from crying out. Unable to form words, she simply nodded and then felt a prick at her arm. Slowly everything began to go numb as the morphine took effect. She began her descent into the darkness once again. 

"Just sleep Major. Tomorrow we will get out of this place. You'll need all the strength you can get. You will be fine Sam, do you hear me. You will be okay." And with those words ringing in her head, she knew no more.

  
  


General Hammond sat in his office, looking over the stacks of files on his desk. Paperwork! How had the U.S. Government managed to get paperwork for him to do now? Unfortunately for him, his superiors wanted a complete record of what was happening. Hammond could understand the reasoning behind this. If they ever got around to setting up an offworld base the information from this exercise would be priceless. But they wanted to know everything. Every time a ration was opened, every time a band-aid was used, he wouldn't be surprised if they started asking about when the men had to go visit the facilities. To make matters worse, they wanted him to record it all. What he wouldn't give for his secretary right now. A soft knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in."

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes Doctor. Please have a seat. I wanted your thoughts on how the first night went."

"I think we did better than anyone expected. Although, to be honest, I'm not quite sure exactly what we should have expected. The arrival of the aliens was causing some panic, but since they have made no aggressive movements, I think most of the men have settled down somewhat."

"What about the organism Doctor?"

"Sir, it appears that the organism didn't follow us through the wormhole. No new cases have been reported. I released Major Vasquez and Captain Adams earlier. Lieutenant Rodgers will probably be released within the next few hours. It looks like everything is all clear on our end sir."

"Let's just hope they're doing as well back at the mountain. Thank you, Doctor." Hammond turned back to his paperwork, but Janet made no motion to leave the room. "Was there anything else you would like to add Doctor?"

"Sir, I was wondering something. With SG-8 about to be back to full capacity, I was wondering if we could send SG-15 on a little recon assignment." Seeing his uncertain look she quickly continued. "There have been no threats from this planet since we got here, and nothing dangerous had ever been reported from the times we did research here. The aliens have insisted time and again that they are peaceful and would never hurt us. And even if they did, they would stand no match against SG-8 and the defensive team we have. SG-15 could slip away for a few hours and retrieve SG-1, or at least maybe find some information on why they aren't here yet."

"You make a compelling argument Doctor, but as much as I would love to bring SG-1 here, I cannot risk the safety of these people. I will consider your argument, however no one will be going anywhere until you can safely release Lieutenant Rodgers from your care. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

Hammond continued in a softer tone. "I know you are concerned for them Janet. I would be lying if I said I wasn't. But we must think of the safety of these people. SG-1 has more offworld experience than all of us combined. Whatever they get into, they can get out again. These people do not have that resource to draw from. We need everyone with offworld experience we can get right now. I will think about what you said."

Smiling up at him she muttered a thank you before turning to leave. As she stood, she noticed the files sitting on his desk. "It never goes away, does it General."

"No, it doesn't Doctor. No, it doesn't."

  
  


Daniel glanced around the cavern one more time. He felt so useless. Jack and Teal'c had left to go scout around in some of the caves. Daniel had stayed behind to watch Sam. That tore him up inside, knowing that Sam was in pain and that he caused it. Why had he insisted on going further into the cave. Why didn't he leave sooner. It was all his fault. He was brought out of his dark musings when the figure beside him began to stir. "Sam?"

"Daniel."

"How are you feeling."

"Thirsty." Daniel quickly grabbed the canteen and held it up for Sam to drink. After she had a couple of sips, he quickly pulled it away.

"Not to much now. We don't want you to become sick."

"I know." Sam quietly looked around the cave. "Where's the Colonel and Teal'c?"

"They went for a look around. They should be back soon." He watched her struggle to sit up and quickly went over to help. Once she was reasonably comfortable he asked her again. "So, how do you feel?

"Not to bad considering. There's a little pain, but not as bad as before." As she finished talking, Jack and Teal'c came back from their scouting trip.

"Well, look who's up and ready to roll." Sam smiled at the comment and looked up to see Jack and Teal'c coming towards them. Her smile abruptly faded when she saw the look on his face. Expecting to see a look of amusement at that last comment, she was scared when he still had concern clearly written on his face. That was a bad sign. That meant something was not going well, either they were going to have a harder time getting out of here then they thought, or she was worse of then she thought.

"Find anything Colonel?"

"There was a breeze coming from somewhere. Teal'c thinks if we follow it we should find some sort of opening." Great. That meant he was concerned about her. Bracing herself for his next answer, she quietly asked.

"How about me sir."

Jack intently studied his 2IC. She was scared, he could tell when she didn't make eye contact with him. He wanted to tell her everything would be alright. But he knew she didn't want to hear false assurances. She wanted, and deserved, to know the truth. 

"Carter, you're in pretty bad shape. Nothing that the Doc can't fix, but we need to get out of here first. Your shoulder is dislocated, and I think your right wrist is sprained. You twisted your left knee and have two very deep cuts on your left leg, along with a dozen smaller cuts all over your body. Thankfully, none of these other cuts seemed to be that bad. Add to that a couple of broken ribs and possibly a concussion." Sam was silent as she took in the information. Jack waited for a few minutes before continuing. 

"There's nothing that we can make a stretcher out of and most of the caves me and Teal'c found were quite small. That means there will be some places where you will have to walk and crawl through. We won't be able to carry you until we get outside. It will get very painful."

Sam could see the sympathy cross everyone's face at the knowledge it would be a slow and painful trip for her. Determined to keep her spirits up, more for their sake than her own, she cheerfully asked "When do we leave?"


	9. Chapter 9

  
  


Five hours after their last discussion, SG-1 was ready to go. They had managed to get Sam back to sleep for a few hours. When she woke up, the guys had everything packed. They quickly sat down and ate a small breakfast, they even managed to get Sam to eat something. Not very much, but it was better than nothing, and she would need all the strength she could get. After breakfast, they helped her stand up and test her leg. They silently agreed that one of them would walk next to her at all times. Since they couldn't carry her out of here, the least they could do was give her a shoulder to lean on, literary. 

Teal'c gave her his staff weapon to use as a crutch and after walking around for a minute, Sam declared she was ready to go. Daniel and Teal'c made one last water run while Jack offered Sam some Tylenol for the pain, surprised when she gratefully accepted. That told him she was in more pain than she was admitting to, and he was again amazed at the strength she had. With that done, they started their trek through the caves. At first, they tried to get Sam to engage in small talk, in an effort to keep her mind away from the pain. They soon abandoned their efforts, though, when it became obvious that Sam was barely listening to them. She was concentrating so much on putting one foot in front of the other that she couldn't respond to her friends. Slowly but surely they started making their way out of those caves.

  
  


Jack was extremely worried about Sam. They had decided to keep their pace slow, not wanting to tire Sam out or cause her anymore pain than necessary. They also decided to take a fifteen minute break every hour, to let Sam rest while they tried to get food, water, and medicine into her. Jack could tell that Teal'c and Daniel were also concerned. Teal'c was walking next to her, offering her support when she needed it. Daniel kept looking back at them, concern and guilt plainly visible on his face. They stopped for a moment as the cave split in two directions. Jack decided to scout out one direction, while Teal'c took the other one. Daniel was going to stay behind with Sam. They would go explore for fifteen minutes, come back and compare notes, and then decide which way to go. It would help them find the exit faster and give Sam some much needed rest.

As soon as she heard Jack and Teal'c leave, Sam slumped to the floor. Daniel came over and sat down next to her. He handed her the canteen, but all she could drink was a sip or two. She heard Daniel mumbling about how far they had come, but the screaming in her body drowned out his voice. Every muscle in her body screamed out in pain, it was all she could do to not cry out loud. She had a monster headache, and everything around her seemed fuzzy. She was having a hard time breathing, and she was so hot. She wished for nothing more than to curl up and sleep, but she knew she couldn't. The Colonel was right about these caves. Sometimes there was barely enough room for them to stand upright, let alone for them to carry her. Plus they simply didn't have the time for them to drag her through the caves. Every second they were in here was another second a cave-in could happen. She would never forgive herself if they got hurt because she was to slow.

Daniel was trying to comfort Sam. He came over and sat by her, noting the beads of sweat that lined her forehead. Thinking that it was just from the exertion that they had been forced to put her through, he quickly gave her some water while making positive sounds about how far they had come. When he saw the pained expression on her face, he immediately reached in the first aid kit for the morphine. He couldn't believe it when she refused, saying that she was fine and morphine would only slow her down. Daniel was going to force her to take them, but quickly abandoned the idea. He did get her to compromise on some Tylenol, but nothing stronger, when Jack and Teal'c showed up. Teal'c had found the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel.' He watched as Sam painfully pulled herself up and started hobbling towards Teal'c. Daniel just hoped they got out of here soon.

Teal'c quickly led the other members of his team to his discovery. A small tunnel connected two caves. At the back of the second cave, a small amount of natural light could be seen. When they saw the light in the other cave, Colonel O'Neill decided that was the best way out. He quickly started crawling through the tunnel. The only problem was it was a very small tunnel. Colonel O'Neill had to literally crawl on his hands and knees to make it through. He turned back towards Major Carter. She was having a hard time staying on her feet. He knew she would have an even harder time crawling through the tunnel. Daniel Jackson, being the smallest of the three volunteered to help Major Carter through the tunnel. Teal'c would follow them through and offer assistance if it was required.

Sam was in the tunnel right behind Daniel. He had no idea how she managed to crawl through there, he had a hard time with it, and he wasn't hurt. Daniel would never get too far ahead of her, and would always wait for her to catch up before he moved again. It was a very slow process, but they were almost within sight of the exit. He could hear Jack encouraging them, heard Teal'c urging them forward, and heard Sam as she unsuccessfully tried to muffle her cries of pain. They were almost there. Suddenly he heard Teal'c cry out. He glanced back and saw that Sam had passed out. He quickly backtracked to where she lay. Teal'c started pushing, while Daniel started pulling. He had no idea how, but somehow they managed to get her out of the tunnel.

Jack could almost see Daniel. He was almost out, then Sam, and then Teal'c. They were almost home free. Suddenly Daniel turned around. What was he doing? After a couple of minutes he was able to see Daniel again, and he saw why he had stopped. Sam was unconscious again. Somehow Daniel and Teal'c had managed to get her out of that stupid tunnel. He bent down to help Daniel move Sam out of the way. When he went back to help Teal'c, a dark red stain caught his attention. Blood. Teal'c slowly crawled out of the tunnel and they immediately rushed to Danny's side. He was already checking Sam out. Then he saw it, fresh blood on her bandages. Crap! Her leg wound had opened up again.

Daniel Jackson and Colonel O'Neill immediately began tending to Major Carter. While they were trying to stop the blood flow, O'Neill ordered Teal'c to check out the exit. He quickly ran down the cave. As he neared the cave entrance, he paused to allow his eyes to adjust. Then Teal'c stepped cautiously to the opening, his heart sinking in his chest at the sight. They had indeed found a way out of the caves, but Teal'c did not think this was what his friends had in mind. The cave opened in the middle of a cliff, the entrance thirty meters from the ground. What appeared to be a river of lava flowed directly beneath. The sky was overcast with the promise of a storm. And there was no sight of the Stargate. They were indeed having a bad day.

  
  


General Hammond stood in front of SG-15. Lieutenant Rodgers had been released several hours ago, and Hammond was thinking about what Dr. Fraiser said. While he wasn't about to send a whole SG team after the stray SG-1, he did want them here now more than anything. Hdeon said that The Festival would be starting soon. He wanted SG-1 here before that happened, so he compromised with himself. 

"As all of you are aware, SG-1 was supposed to be here when we arrived. It has been two days, and they still have not come. Now because of the uniqueness of our situation here, I can't spare a SG team to go looking for them. I am willing, however, to allow two men to go retrieve them. If they are in trouble, the odds of those two men coming back are slim. For that reason, I will not order any one to go. It will be a voluntary assignment. Any one who would like to volunteer to go rescue SG-1 step forward." Hammond smiled as SG-15 took a step forward as one. "Very well. Decide amongst yourselves who will be going and who will be staying. Whoever you decide to go, prepare to depart in one hour. Dismissed."

"Thank you sir." Janet spoke for the first time.

"I just hope they bring them back in one piece." One hour later General Hammond, Dr. Fraiser, and the two SG-15 team members who were going started heading out to the Stargate. As they neared the Stargate, they saw Hdeon and his group chanting. Suddenly the Stargate started to spin. As soon as the wormhole stabilized, a group of what they could only describe as a cross between a lion and a wolf came charging through. Scattering every way they could they quickly dissolved into the surrounding forests, only to be replaced by another group of animals. 

"Hdeon, what is going on here?" the General demanded as the Stargate shut down.

"It is The Festival. The time of The Scattering has arrived."

"The What!?!"

"The Scattering. It is when my people first arrive. They bring their most prized possessions and scatter them across the land."

Hammond looked at the Stargate, which again had formed a stable wormhole. This time several large and dangerous looking birds were flying out of the wormhole. In a solemn voice he spoke to the group he was traveling with. "The rescue mission is off until further notice. Return to camp and begin defensive procedure."


	10. Chapter 10

  
  


While Teal'c went looking for the exit, Jack and Daniel tended to Sam. They were relieved when her leg wound wasn't bleeding as bad as they thought it was. They were in the process of changing her bandages, when Daniel noticed something wrong. "Jack, I think she has a fever."

"Crap!" Jack muttered as he felt her forehead. "Some of her wounds must have become infected. Grab some antibiotics from the med kit Daniel." Jack turned back to what he was doing. After a few minutes he heard Teal'c return. "Find the exit sign Teal'c?"

"I did indeed find an exit, O'Neill, however I do not think that it will be much use to us."

"What do you mean? Wait, never mind. Daniel, can you stay with Sam while I go check it out?"

"Sure."

Jack got to his feet and, after a quick glance at Sam, followed Teal'c to the exit. His reaction to the scene was the same. To make matters worse, it had started to rain, adding to his gloomy feeling. He felt hopeless, which turned to despair before changing into anger. "Great. What do we do now Teal'c?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the question, while Jack began to investigate the cliff. "Teal'c, hold on to me okay." Jack said when he began leaning over the face of the cliff to get a better look at it. "Alright, pull me up." Teal'c quickly did. "There are some handhold. Do you think you could climb it?"

"I do."

"Great. Let's get back to Danny and Sam."

  
  


Daniel looked up when he heard footsteps returning. By the expression on Jack's face, he knew it was not good. "Well?"

"Teal'c was right. The cave opens up right in the middle of a cliff. We're pretty high up, there's no way that Sam could climb with her injuries."

"Jack, I don't mean to sound pessimistic here, but I don't think Sam can wait until we find another way out." Daniel glanced up at the ceiling as a drip of water hit him on the shoulder. "What's that?"

"It's nothing, Daniel. It just started raining outside. We'll probably get a few drips, this is a cave you know." His teasing tone became serious again when he looked down at Sam. "How's she doing?"

"She started stirring while you two were out. I managed to get some antibiotics into her and gave her a shot of morphine for the pain. She just settled down again. I've been trying to bring her fever down, but it's still pretty high." Daniel looked at his friends as they made themselves comfortable. "Jack, what do we do now?"

"Teal'c thinks he can climb the cliff." Jack spoke while he changed positions, a steady stream of water began falling where he was sitting. "Once the rain has stopped, I think he should do that. Once he climbs the cliff he'll hopefully be able to see the Stargate. We won't be able to go back to the SGC, but at least we'll know which direction to go in."

"Wait a minute. Why can't we go back to the SGC?"

"Oh. Didn't I tell you Daniel? Just before the quake Hammond called. Said they were having some problems at home and told us the address of a planet we were supposed to meet at. Said he would explain when we got there. Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention it."

"That's okay Jack. I think we all have something more important on our minds." They all looked toward Sam. Jack quickly broke the moment of awkward silence.

"Anyway, Teal'c should at least be able to find our gear, and some rope that we could use to get Sam out of here. Then we high tail it out of here. Any questions?"

"I have one Jack. Does it look like we are starting to get more water in here, or is it just me." They all looked around the cave. Daniel was right. There was more water in the cave than before. And it wasn't all dripping from the ceiling either. Jack noticed a small stream beginning to form from the small tunnel they had crawled through.

"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" he asked as he watched the size of the stream increase. "Oh Daniel. You remember wondering about where all the rocks went?"

"Yea Jack, I do. But I don't think this is the time to be theorizing about it. Why?"

"Oh, I just thought you would like to hear my theory on the matter." Daniel and Teal'c turned around and gave Jack a curious look until they noticed what he was looking at. The stream, which could now be safely called a small river, was carrying the smaller rocks through the tunnel, into the cave, and out through the opening. 

"Oh boy! And you said it was nothing."

  
  


The group from the SGC was beside themselves, but Hammond didn't know if it was caused by excitement or fear. Hdeon's people had already brought many species of animals through the Stargate. It was a zoologists dream come true. Unfortunately, there were no zoologists with their group. To Hammond, it was a potentially dangerous situation. There were already more kinds of animals on the planet than he had ever heard of. From lions to mice and everything in between. Their camp had already had a couple of 'visitors', but thankfully they were scared away quickly. He turned at the sound of the door opening. "Report."

"Sir, Hdeon still says that this is the scattering. Apparently, it goes on until all his people have come through the Stargate. He thinks that will be several more days."

"Does he have any intention of containing these animals?"

"Not that I know of sir. He said that this is according to the 'balance of life'."

"What about his people?"

"They seem peaceful enough sir. Like Hdeon said, they are all wearing some sort of environmental protection suit. They have a few weapons they say they use during the gathering. They don't look to be very advanced, mostly spears and things like that. I think we would have no problem neutralizing them if they became a threat."

"Very well. Be sure to keep round the clock guards in camp. I don't want anymore animals to come here looking for food. Let's keep a discrete watch on their camp. Also, let's keep an eye on the Stargate. I want to know what other animals they are going to bring.

"Yes sir." Hammond sighed as he turned around. This place was becoming a zoo, literally.

  
  


"Jack, how far up did you say we were?"

"Don't worry Danny. We won't let you fall." Jack and Daniel were busy tearing up the blankets to make some rope. Since they discovered their little river, they looked over every square inch of the cave for a way out. They found a couple more tunnels farther back, but these too were producing rivers of their own. All the rivers met and flowed out the other end of the cave, moving larger and larger rocks as they grew stronger.

"I know Jack. It's just, well, I never was really good at the whole rock climbing thing." They were standing in the stream of water. It was ankle deep, but rising steadily. Every so often a small rock would crash into one of them, making them stumble. They had found a relatively dry spot on the side of the cave and moved Sam so she would stay dry while they looked for a way out. By the time they had returned, the water was half-way to their knees and Jack decided it was too dangerous to stay here. They only had one option, though. That was to climb the cliff. They finished with the blankets and turned towards Teal'c, who was carrying Sam. Teal'c was the best climber of the group, so he was going to carry Sam up the cliff. They needed the rope to tie her onto him. Then they started towards the exit.

"Don't worry Daniel. You'll do fine." They were at the exit now. They decided Teal'c would go first, followed by Daniel, with Jack bringing up the rear. They had their makeshift rope tied around them. They even tied the rope around Sam's waist, just in case the rope that was used to tie her to Teal'c broke and she slipped. When they were all tied in, they started their climb. Teal'c went slowly, finding the best handholds for his friends. The cliff itself was slippery from the rain, which was still falling. The steam that came from the cold rain meeting the hot lava didn't help either, and several times they lost a handhold and slipped. But every time, they were able to reclaim their footing and climb again. After what seemed like hours they finally reached the summit, collapsing in exhaustion for a few minutes.

"Told you you'd do fine." Jack said while trying to catch his breath. "What is it?" he asked when he noticed Daniel looking over the edge of the cliff.

"It's beautiful. If the situation were different, I would love to just sit here and look at it all day." He was referring to the scene below them. The water from the cave, which by this time had completely overtaken the entrance, came rushing out causing a large waterfall. As it fell into the lava, steam erupted everywhere. Sunlight fell down upon the steam and formed thousands of tiny little rainbows. Daniel was right, it was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. But he had enough of this place. He glanced around the summit, looking for the Stargate. 

"Teal'c any sight of the Stargate?"

"No O'Neill. But I do believe that is the cave we entered in." Teal'c pointed to a group of caves off in the distance.

"Danny, how's Sam doing?"

"Well, she's not bleeding again, which is a good thing, but she's soaked and her fever seems higher than before."

"Teal'c you see any shelter around here?"

"No."

"Okay. Teal'c, grab Sam. We're going to head back to the caves."

"Jack, you can't seriously want to go back into those caves. Look what happened the last time. What if there's another earthquake, or a cave-in!"

"Relax Daniel. I don't want to go back there, but we need to get out of this rain. We'll just stay by the opening, just far enough so it's dry. As soon as the storm breaks, we'll hit the road. If anything happens, we'll just hop outside. Okay."

Daniel reluctantly nodded as they headed towards the cave.


	11. Chapter 11

  
  


Sam was hot. That was the first thing she noticed as she struggled back into the land of the conscious. She tried to remember what happened, but it all was one big blur. She vaguely remembered something about water, but that was about it. She could feel herself being moved, but it was too much effort to try and open her eyes and find out. She started to fade out. When she came back to reality, she realized that she had stopped moving. She could no longer feel the wet clothes on her body, but she was still so hot. 

When she tried to get up, she came to another realization. She hurt. Strong, gentle hands were there immediately, trying to ease her suffering and get her comfortable. She felt a canteen at her lips at took a sip of water before the world faded out again. When she came back, she could feel a wet rag on her forehead. She knew better than to try and move, and just laid there enjoying the cool touch. Sam continued to lay there, fading in and out of consciousness, while the storm raged outside. 

Jack was never happier to see the Stargate. It had taken them an hour to reach the caves, by that time they were all soaked. Teal'c was right. It was the caves that started this whole mess. He was relieved to find their packs were still there. They quickly brought them inside the cave, happy to find some semi-dry clothing inside. He and Daniel quickly changed Sam into the relatively dry clothing while Teal'c made a fire. Then they waited for the storm to break. Sam seemed to be fading in and out. She never quite made it to full awareness, which both worried and relieved Jack. He knew the longer she was unconscious the worse her condition became. But on the other hand, if she did wake up she would be in a lot of pain. Unfortunately, they had lost the medkit during their run in with the water. Jack knew that she wouldn't feel as much pain in the sort of semi-consciousness she was in now. They took turns taking care of her. They tried to give her water to keep her hydrated, and they had used a damp cloth to try and keep her fever down. Three hours later the storm finally broke, and they had rushed off to the Stargate. He and Daniel were helping Sam while Teal'c quickly dialed the address Hammond gave them. Jack just wished they would be able to find Sam some help at the other planet. Whatever was going on at the SGC better be good.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The SGC camp was getting a little worried. Hdeon's people had been bringing animals through the gate for two days now. And they had been getting more exotic, and more dangerous, every time. They had several attacks on the camp from hungry animals, but the most interesting of all had to be the stampede that went through at 03:00 hours. Despite Hdeon's protest against caging the animals up, it seemed quite clear that the food they left out was meant to keep the animals in this general area. And the worst thing is they hadn't all arrived. The Stargate kept running day and night. It got to the point that the SGC personnel started making bets as to what type of animal would come next. The group of men who were standing guard at the gate looked down into the clearing. Hdeon was welcoming a bunch of snakes to the planet. What was the world coming to. When the Stargate began to spin again, they started talking about what they would see this time. They immediately raced toward the gate when they saw what, or who in this case, stepped through.

SG-1 stepped out of the gate and saw themselves surrounded by snakes and funky looking monks. "Teal'c, are you sure this is the right address?"

"I am."

"Greetings. Welcome to The Festival."

Jack looked around the clearing the Stargate was in. Snakes could be seen slithering away into the woods. Further out he could see all sorts of animals. They were everywhere. "Umm, hi. What's with the zoo?"

"They are here for The Festival. Are you not also hear for The Festival?"

"Uh no. We are actually looking for our friends?"

"The others like you?"

"Yes. You wouldn't by any chance happen to know where they are, would you?"

"Yes. They are on the other side of the clearing." He pointed in the direction away from the Stargate.

"Thank you. I think we should go and find out what the crap is going on here." Jack quickly headed in the direction the funky monk had pointed. He was carefully trying not to disturb all the creatures in front of him that he never heard the guards call. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down O'Neill. It's about time you guys joined the party."

"Webber, you scared me half to death. What's going on here."

"The Festival, and that's all we know." Webber stopped when he noticed they were carrying Sam, who was still unconscious. "Let's finish this after we get the Major taken care of. Vasquez, run ahead and tell Hammond and Fraiser that SG-1 is here, and that they have wounded. You two," he said pointing to the other members of his team, "stay and watch the gate. I'm going to show O'Neill the way back to camp." The two teammates nodded and returned to their position. Webber quickly led SG-1 back towards camp, following the retreating form of Vasquez.

"What do you mean, General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser are here? What happened?"

"It's a long story."

  
  


General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser were just finishing up their conversation when Major Vasquez burst through the door. "Major, calm down. What happened?"

"Sir SG-1 is here. Colonel Webber is showing them the way to the camp as we speak." Turning her attention to Janet, she quietly added, "It looks like Major Carter is hurt." Hearing those words, Janet rushed out to meet them, followed closely by General Hammond. It wasn't a long wait, and soon SG-1 came walking, well limping into camp. Taking one look at them she immediately ordered them into the infirmary.

"What happened?" she asked as they gently put Sam onto one of the beds.

"We had a problem with some caves."

"Are any of you guys hurt?"

"No, just some scrapes and bruises."

"I hope you don't mind if I check you out anyway."

"Sure thing Doc, just take care of Carter first." Janet barely heard him, though. She was already giving Sam her full attention. Jack turned back toward Hammond. "So sir, something going on that you want to tell us about?"

"Let's go debrief in my office." With that, the men left, leaving the Doctor to do her work.

  
  


Janet didn't hear the men leave. She barely heard O'Neill agree to a check up. She was focused on one thing. Sam. Deep down she knew something bad had to have happened for SG-1 not to be on the planet when they got here. She knew she was just kidding herself, holding on to the hope that they would simply walk into camp. Well, they did walk into camp, all but one. Sam was in bad shape, whatever happened must have been bad. Janet made a mental note to ask Colonel O'Neill about it. First thing first though. She had to help Sam. She quickly called over a nurse. 

"Start an IV stat and start getting me readings on her pulse, BP, and temperature." The nurse nodded and started preparing the IV while Janet started working on Sam. She easily recognized the broken, not sprained like the Colonel thought, wrist and dislocated shoulder and decided they could wait till later. Next she checked her abdomen for signs of internal injuries. Thankfully, it didn't look like she had any. She looked down at her knee. Not much she could do about that right now. She next looked to the wounds on her leg, noticing dismally that they were infected. She cleaned them out, stitching up the two deepest ones, before applying clean bandages.

"Doctor. Her temp is at 102.4. BP at 90/50 and pulse is weak but steady."

"I don't suppose you managed to sneak a heart monitor through the gate, did you."

"No ma'am. Didn't think we'd need one."

"I know what you mean." She turned back to keep working on Sam while she continued to give instructions to the nurse. "Start some antibiotics and let's get some fluids in her. We'll need to monitor her stats closely until she wakes up, at least once every fifteen minutes. If her vitals change get me immediately. Hold off on the painkillers until she's conscious too. We'll need her help to find out exactly what's wrong." The nurse nodded in understanding. Janet finished setting her shoulder and wrist and wrapping her knee before heading off to General Hammond's office. She knew of some guys who would want a progress report.

  
  


Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c were all in Hammond's office. They were telling him what happened on the planet, while Hammond told them what happened back on Earth. "So, how long are we stuck here sir."

"We'll be here for about a month Colonel."

"General, what exactly was The Festival that Hdeon was talking about?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that Dr. Jackson."

"It definitely sounds like some sort of big event. I'm not sure if it is a religious event, maybe more of a social one like the fourth of July or Columbus Day. If I could go talk to Hdeon for a while I might know more." Hammond was about to give his approval when a new voice suddenly cut him off.

"Not until I get a look at you Daniel." Janet strode into Hammond's office, but before she could say anything else Jack asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"How's Sam."

"She's pretty bad, but nothing that shouldn't heal with time. I set her shoulder and wrist. It was a clean break so it should heal rather quickly. She'll probably need surgery for the knee, but unless something drastic happens I would rather wait until we get home before doing anything about that. She did break three ribs, but it looks like they didn't puncture anything. We'll have to wait until she wakes up to be sure, same thing for the possible concussion. I stitched up the deepest wounds, but unfortunately they have already become infected. We've already got her started on antibiotics, hopefully they will take care of the infection. There's really not that much more I can do until she wakes up." She turned her attention to Jack "What happened out there?"

"There was an earthquake and a cave-in. She was caught in it."

"What about the rest of you?"

"Like I said before, we're fine."

"Just let me check you out for myself. Come back to the infirmary and keep Sam company. Then Daniel, if you feel up to it, you can go talk to Hdeon about the festival. Okay?"

The three men mumbled a reply as they headed toward the infirmary. Janet shared an exasperated look with the General. She should have known something like this was going to happen.


	12. Chapter 12

  
  


The SGC group was in particularly good mood that day. Not only had the prodigal team SG-1 return, but now that Dr. Jackson was here they might learn exactly what the stupid festival was about. The men of SG-1 were checked out by Dr. Fraiser, who said they were suffering from exhaustion but not much else. They agreed to get some sleep on one condition. That they be allowed to stay in the infirmary with Sam. Janet was dumbfounded. Something really bad, much worse than a cave-in must have happened for them to want to stay in the infirmary just to be near Sam. Daniel was still being Daniel though, and although he was concerned about Sam, he wanted to talk to Hdeon to learn about The Festival. 

Partly out of her own curiosity and partly because she knew he wouldn't sleep until he had, she let him go talk for twenty minutes. That was over an hour ago. She might have gotten worried if she hadn't insisted Colonel Webber go with him. Besides, right now she had other problems. Sam's temperature was slowly rising. It was now at 102.7. Not much of a change, but without the wonders of modern medicine she had come to rely on any bad change was, well, bad. She was hooking up a new bag of antibiotics when Daniel came back.

"You'll never believe what's going on Jack."

"Ah let me guess, the festival."

"Well, yes, but you won't believe what it's about. It's like I thought, more of a..."

"Hold on there a minute Danny. Let's let General Hammond get here before you explain, that way you won't have to say it twice."

"Let General Hammond get here so he won't have to say what twice Colonel?"

"General, Danny here was just about to explain to us all the hoopla about the festival."

"Well in that case, go ahead Dr. Jackson. I've been dying to hear this part."

"Well General, like I thought it's more of a social event than a religious one. A long time ago Hdeon's race lived on this planet. This is where they evolved. But for some reason, the atmosphere started changing. Their historians think it was mostly their own doing. They say that their early ancestors basically razed the planet, taking whatever they wanted and not trying to maintain the homeostasis of the planet. Because of this, the planet started changing, mostly the atmosphere. They need a different concentration of gases in the atmosphere, more Nitrogen or Helium and less Oxygen, or something like that to survive. Anyway, by the time they realized what was going on, they couldn't do anything to stop it, it kind of created a chain reaction."

"Like the Greenhouse effect."

"Yea something like that Janet. Anyway, the only thing they could do was search for a new place to live. They found a new planet but they felt guilty about killing their old one through neglect. This guilt helped them become a much more environmentally concerned people, or as Hdeon put it 'they started down a new path.' The technology was adapted or new technology was developed to replace the older 'uncaring' ones. The general attitude of the whole society changed, which is pretty remarkable in and of itself."

"That's great Danny, but what does this have to do with the festival?"

"Well, like I said some pretty remarkable attitude changes came from the planet dying. Eventually one of the beliefs that came about this was that they didn't kill the planet, but that the planet sacrificed itself for them. The idea is that the planet was alive and saw what a lesser species they were. It sacrificed itself to help them find their way to become a greater species. The Festival is a way for them to honor this sacrifice."

"So, it is indeed a religious event."

"It might have started out that way Teal'c, but I think it is more of a social event now. Like Christmas in our own society. It started out as a religious event but more and more it is becoming a social one."

"So Daniel, what's with all the animals that have been brought here. We've already had a few run-ins with them."

"They're for The Festival. Hdeon said something to you about bringing the most prized possessions?" Both General Hammond and Janet nodded. "Well if you think about it, what would be more prized to a group of environmentalist than life. Animals became the status symbol in their society over the generations. Just like our house or car are status symbols on Earth. During The Festival, they bring the most exotic or rarest animals to show off how well they're doing."

"Not to put a dampener on your theory Danny, but all the animals I've seen so far don't look very rare or exotic."

"The rare animals aren't here yet. These are just the everyday, ordinary citizen's offering. I mean let's face it, a Ferrari wouldn't be that great if everyone has one. Hdeon say's that once all the common offerings are through, the rest of the people who want to come to The Festival will come through. Then all the leaders and upper class people who want nothing more than to show of their wealth will come through, making as big of a spectacle as they can. That's when you see the really rare animals."

"As interesting as this is Dr. Jackson, what does this have to do with the festival?"

"General, this part of The Festival is called the Scattering. They basically let all the animals wander around free. It's symbolic to show that they are trying to give life back to the planet. Once all the animals are here, the Scattering is over. The food being left out for the animals will stop and they will be left to fend for themselves. Three days after that the Gathering will start. The Gathering is symbolic of the planet accepting the gift of life and giving back to the people. From what I can tell, the Gathering is basically a big hunting party. They hunt all the animals they brought until most of them are dead. They use the traditional tools of their ancestors, that's why you see a bunch of spears and bows and arrows. After the hunt is over, they have a big party for everyone who survived."

"Survived?!?"

"Apparently the three days between the Scattering and the Gathering, and the Gathering itself, are particularly dangerous."

"If people have died, why do they not simply restrain the animals and then kill them?"

"Because that's not the natural way Teal'c. Apparently it is one of the most honorable ways to die in their society."

"So any idea when the bad parts start happening."

"Hdeon said that once the rare animals start showing up it usually takes about a day for the Scattering to finish."

"And the rare animals would be coming.."

Jack's question was interrupted by the radio. "Sir, this is Captain Williams. Something that I can only describe as a dragon just exited the Stargate."

"I think it's safe to say the rare animals would be coming now, Jack."


	13. Chapter 13

  
  


The group from Earth was busy. They were trying to change how the camp was set up. Instead of giving the largest building to the supplies, they were working frantically to reverse it. They combined five of the largest tents to make one giant tent that would hold the supplies, giving the SGC personnel the more secure building to use as their home. SG-8 and SG-15 were busy trying to secure the area more completely, adding secondary and even a third line of defenses. The guards at the gate told everyone what they saw coming through. They had a great deal of variety with their exotic species. Everything from an animal as benign as a unicorn to something as terrifying as the alien monster in their favorite movie. What's worse, they already had their first casualty. An airman was bitten in the leg by a snake. After several hours of observation, Dr. Fraiser concluded that the snake was not poisonous and let the airman out of her sight. The whole SGC camp was preparing for a wild, and possibly violent, showdown with nature.

In the infirmary, Janet was preparing too. She had recruited a couple of volunteers to help her move the more dangerous supplies and instruments into the third building. While she wanted to be prepared to help any possible casualties, she did not want to endanger the lives of the people here by having a potentially dangerous object in the middle of a war zone, who wants to be next to the tank of pure oxygen that can explode if something hits it. She had therefore commandeered the third building to hold her supplies in, that way they would be close enough if she needed them, but if anything did happen to them they would be far enough away to cause any severe injuries.

After issuing her orders to the airmen, she stopped to look back at her infirmary. It was full, a thought that was not nearly as troublesome as it should have been. SG-1 was asleep, or meditating, in her infirmary. They had wanted to run out and help prepare the camp when they learned what the festival was, but she had insisted that they get some sleep first. So they had all crashed in her infirmary, unwilling to leave Sam's side. The thought made her want to smile and frown. SG-1 was closer than many families were, and they never showed that more then when someone was hurt. That someone in this case was Sam, and that thought made Janet frown. Sam wasn't getting better. She still hadn't woken up, and her fever was still increasing. But what had Janet extremely worried was her blood pressure. It was falling. Not by much, just like her fever, but enough. That meant she was bleeding again and since she couldn't see any fresh blood on her bandages, the bleeding must be internal. She could only hope that it sorted itself out or at least didn't become too much of a problem. She had never felt quite as helpless as she did now. Deciding she needed a breath of fresh air, she went over and checked Sam's vitals before telling the nurse where she would be and stepping out into the camp.

Jack awoke quickly, disoriented for a moment until events caught up with him. They had finally managed to get off that stupid planet and had come to this stupid planet. At least no one else got hurt in those blasted caves. He stood up and stretched the kinks out of his body before going over to Sam's bed. She was still unconscious. He looked around for Fraiser before the nurse told him she was outside. Teal'c and even Daniel were awakened by his quiet questions and quickly joined him as he went of to find Fraiser. "Doc, how's she doing?"

"Colonel, Daniel, Teal'c. I thought you were still asleep."

"We just woke up Janet. How's Sam?"

"She's hanging in there. Her fever and BP are a little worse, but she's still fighting. There's nothing more I can do for her until she wakes up."

"Look Doc, as much as I would love to sit by her bedside until she wakes up, we need to get this camp ready."

"Say no more Colonel. Go, take Teal'c with you. Help the camp get ready. I will let you know the second anything changes."

"Thanks Doc." Jack smiled and Teal'c bowed his head before they went to join SG-8.

"Janet?"

"Yes Daniel."

"Since I really wouldn't be much help in the defensive side of things, do you mind if I stay with Sam and keep her company?"

"Daniel I think that would be great. You can keep me company as well." Daniel smiled as they headed back towards Sam. Daniel took a seat by her bed while Janet checked her vitals again. Cursing under her breath, she told the nurse to get some O neg blood.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing Daniel. Her BP is just too low for my liking. We're giving her some blood to try to bring it back up." Janet explained as she hooked up the blood to the IV pole. Daniel stayed by her bed for hours, talking to her and using a damp cloth to reduce her fever, until he was called to the gate. Something was happening. As soon as he got there, he knew what it was.

In an almost reverent and terrified voice he announced "The Scattering is complete. In three days the Gathering will begin."

  
  


Sam was dreaming. She was in a tunnel that went on forever. Suddenly the tunnel began to fill up with water. She couldn't breathe. She started thrashing about when she heard a voice. "Shh Sam. It's okay, just relax." Janet? What was she doing here? She opened her eyes and caught sight of her friend. Glancing around the room, she realized she was in the infirmary. Only it wasn't the infirmary. Confused she turned back to Janet. "Welcome back Sam. I was starting to get worried about you." She started to ask a question, but the words wouldn't come past her throat. Janet quickly brought a glass of water over and helped Sam take a couple sips before she removed it.

"What happened?" she asked, happy that she could at least talk.

"There was a cave-in. The guys were able to get you out and come here."

"The guys?"

"There okay. I sent someone to grab them. They should be here any minute."

"Where's here."

"It's a long story Sam, but were not at the SGC. We're on another planet. I'll tell you about it when you're stronger. But first I need your help for a second, okay."

"Okay."

Janet smiled sympathetically at her friend before continuing. "Since we're not home I don't have any of the equipment I need right now. I need you to answer some questions before the guys get here okay."

"Shoot."

"First of all, do you have any headache, dizziness, or nausea?"

"Headache yes but the other two no."

"Any trouble breathing?"

"A little, like I can't catch my breath."

"Alright Sam. I'm going to give you some Oxygen. That should help with your breathing. Then I'll start you on some painkillers which should knock out the worse of the pain. Now I need you to try and sleep. You still have an infection and you'll need all the strength you can get okay."

"Okay." she said just as the other members of SG-1 came running into the infirmary. "Hey guys. Did ya miss me?" Janet stepped back to give the team some alone time. She went and told the nurse her new instructions. She came back a few minutes later when she saw Sam was struggling to stay awake.

"Okay guys, that's enough for now. Major Carter needs to rest." Janet watched as the guys said their good-byes and went back to what they were doing. Turning back to Sam, she smiled. "Now I need you to get some sleep. Just holler if you need anything." Sam nodded as she once again fell into a restless sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

  
  


The guys left Sam's bedside and went back outside. There was still a lot to do, but they had renewed hope that everything would be okay. Around them the once quiet planet was coming alive. The animals apparently did not like having their food taken away and were voicing their unhappiness. At least they had a plan. Once everything was secure, everybody who wasn't trained to handle this would stay inside the building. Everyone who was trained would stay outside and defend the camp, at least until it was overrun by wild animals. Then they would get inside the buildings and shoot anything that tried to come in. "To bad we don't have any Tacs."

"Indeed O'Neill. They would make defending our camp much easier."

"We'll have to talk to Jacob about getting some. I'm sure they have a couple extra lying around somewhere." Just then they heard a low growl coming from the trees nearby. "Don't move." he commanded as he swung his gun around and got a tight grip on the handle. He saw Teal'c had activated his staff weapon and was surprised to see Daniel pulling out his own pistol. They carefully began to retreat back to the main camp. About half way there the animal attacked. They watched as a lion of some sort came from nowhere and clawed Daniel in the arm. It took a second for their brains to start working again and kill the lion. "Danny, you okay."

"What do you think Jack."

"Let me see." Jack started examining the wound while Teal'c managed to get Daniel into a sitting position. "It looks long, but not very deep. You were lucky."

"I guess so." Daniel was starting to wince in pain as the shock wore off.

"Come on Danny. Let's go pay a visit to the Doc. She'll be oh so glad to see us again."

  
  


Janet heard the commotion outside. That didn't bother her though, it was happening more and more now that the scattering was over. What did bother her was the gunshots that sounded a few seconds later. Running through possible scenarios she prepared to go outside and see what happened. But before she was able to leave, the door opened and SG-1 came strolling in.

"I should have known." she muttered under her breath as she caught sight of Daniel's bloody arm. "What happened?"

"One of the critters decided to meet Daniel. We politely asked it to go away."

Janet looked at Jack with an amused look at his explanation before turning to Daniel. "Well, it doesn't look to deep. Let's get it cleaned up, shall we." Daniel nodded and Jack turned to look at Sam. 

"Doc, what happened?" he asked in a slightly panicked voice when he noticed the oxygen mask they had just finished getting for her. Janet looked at him and saw what he was referring to. Turning her attention back to Daniel she answered his question.

"Don't worry Colonel. Nothing bad has happened. When Sam was awake she told me she was having trouble breathing. The Oxygen is just helping her." She turned her attention back to Daniel. "Alright Daniel I'm done. I'll let you go, but you know the rules. The second anything develops you're..."

"I'm back here before I can say festival, yeah I know Janet."

  
  


The first thing Sam recognized as she awoke from her fever induced nightmare was a damp cloth on her head. It felt good. She opened her eyes and was happy to see Janet sitting beside her, holding the cloth. "Hey Sam. Glad to see you're awake again." Janet put down the cloth and reached for the glass of water, giving Sam a couple of sips so she could find her voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Hot." she said, her voice a mere whisper.

"I know." Janet smiled sympathetically at her friend. "Your fever has been getting higher. I'm trying to bring it down, but nothing I do seems to affect it much."

"How long?"

"You've been asleep for almost a day. Your fever soared after a couple of hours. It just barely broke, although it's still to high for my liking." She held the glass of water up again so Sam could take another drink. She then put it down and started brushing Sam's sweat soaked hair with her fingers, trying to soothe the younger woman.

"Where are the guys?"

"They're outside. Don't worry, they're fine." Janet watched as Sam leaned back into the pillows, a small smile crossing her face. "What are you thinking?"

"You've probably waited your whole life to hear this, but I think I miss the infirmary."

"Why do you say that?" Janet asked as her smile widened.

"The beeps of the infirmary may be annoying, but nothing compares to the snarls and growls of this place. Where are we camped, in the middle of a zoo?"

Janet laughed at the question. "That's another long story Sam." She watched as her friend tried to get comfortable, grimacing at the pain the movement caused. "How's the pain. I can give you something stronger if it's to much."

"No, it's fine Janet. I've had worse." Janet moved her fingers from Sam's hair and again picked up the damp cloth, stroking it against her still feverish forehead. Sam closed her eyes, Janet's gentle ministrations slowly sending her back to sleep, when suddenly a round of gunfire was heard outside. Sam's eyes shot open as she tried to get up, Janet trying to keep her lying down. "What's happening?"

"Nothing, Sam. Don't worry about it." Seeing Sam calm down, she quietly added "It's another long..."

"Long story." Janet nodded. "So why don't you tell me about it?"

"Sam, I will tell you all about it when your stronger. Right now I just want you to go to sleep." She started stroking Sam's hair again.

"Janet." Sam was speaking so softly that Janet had to lean closer to hear her. "I'm scared to go back to sleep. I had such horrible nightmares. Couldn't you just stay here until I'm asleep. Pretend that you're telling me a bedtime story. It would mean a lot to me."

Janet looked into her friends blue eyes, seeing the fear in them. "Okay Sam. Just lie back and close your eyes." She waited till her friend was settled and started. "Once upon a time..."

  
  


Hammond glanced around. The third day was beginning. Soon it would be all over. He just hoped they wouldn't be over too. The attacks were already getting more violent and more frequent. Thankfully, they had only had two more minor injuries. He was going to do all that he could to ensure it stayed that way. He had already ordered all non-essential personnel to stay in the buildings. He had even assigned the guards to keep watch in the buildings, taking them out of the open and putting them into the confined space they were more comfortable with. That left the SG teams to guard the outside. SG-8 and SG-15 were on watch by the main building, where most of the men were. SG-1 was watching the smaller building, the infirmary.

Hammond had decided to join in the fight this time. There had been too many times he could think of when he had been forced to send other people instead of coming himself. This time he would be on the front line. He had the training necessary, just because he was a General now didn't mean that he never did anything dangerous before. And, truth be told, they needed him out here as much as he needed to be out here. He decided to join one of the SG teams for the time being, leaving one of the technicians in charge in the bigger building and of course Dr Fraiser in charge in the infirmary. Now he stood with his team watching the forest for any signs of hostility. His team, man that sounded good. SG-1. Normally his best team, now just his team. Make no mistake, he wasn't trying to take over the team, that would be one of the biggest mistakes he could ever make. No, he was just joining them until this whole festival was over. He joined this team for several reasons. First was the most obvious, they were a man short until Major Carter was released from the infirmary, which 'was not going to be for a while' Dr. Fraiser assured him. The second reason was the strangeness of the team. Given the team was made up of one retired officer, a scientist who was also an officer, an archeologist who never even dreamed of joining the military, and an alien, Hammond assumed that it would be less awkward for him to join this team. The last reason was Colonel Jack O'Neill. He wanted to be treated like a member of the team, not like someone they had to watch out for or were forced to take on. He knew Jack wouldn't give him preferential treatment. He also knew that Jack, or the rest of SG-1 for that matter, wouldn't feel awkward around him when their roles were reversed again. 

"Sir, you stay here with Daniel. Keep an eye on that forest, shoot anything that moves. Me and Teal'c are going to set up some motion detectors..." He was interrupted by gunfire. SG-8 had scared off a bunch of wild boars that were charging them. He started again "motion detectors on the other side of the infirmary. There's no forest on that side, so nothing should be coming from that side, and the alarms will tell us if something is trying to sneak up on us." With that, he and Teal'c took off around the building. Dr. Jackson and General Hammond tightened their grips on their guns. Man was it good to get back in the field.


	15. Chapter 15

  
  


Janet glanced around the infirmary again, grateful that not only were there a few guards, but General Hammond and SG-1 were there too. The gathering had started yesterday, just when she couldn't believe the sounds could get any worse. Then, it was just the everyday animal sounds; howls, snorts, sheiks, chirps, that kind of stuff. Now it was the sound of death. Cries of pain from man and beast alike, growls as terrified animals attacked their attacker, war cries as a different race ceremoniously killed all these innocent animals while being killed themselves. In a word it was chaos. A noise made her turn toward the door, while the guards straightened up and trained their guns there. More than once someone or something had tried to take refuge in the buildings. When General Hammond called for the final retreat, they had literally barricaded the doors once SG-1 was through. So far nothing had been able to break through. She just hoped the other building was doing so well. Once the sound at the door had gone, she relaxed a little and looked around the room. She and her nurse decided it would be selfish for both of them to stay here, so her nurse took some basic medical supplies and headed into the other building before they were locked in. That left her with the more serious patient, namely Sam. She was sleeping again, tossing and turning in time with the nightmare Janet knew she was having. Her fever was also returning, seesawing back and forth from dangerously high to almost normal and back up again. The members of SG-1 were crowded around her bed, a subconscious attempt to keep her safe. She just wished she knew when their own nightmare would end.

  
  


Daniel blinked groggily, unsure what exactly woke him. He turned to Sam, happy to see her sleeping peacefully for the first time in days. Peaceful. That was it. He turned to Jack. "Jack, wake up." he said, gently shaking him.

"What is it Daniel?" Jack murmured, then shot up straight at a thought. "Is it Sam? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong Jack. Listen."

Jack listened for a moment. "I don't hear anything Danny." By that time General Hammond and Dr. Fraiser were both awakened by their conversation. Teal'c also opened his eyes from his meditation.

"Exactly Jack. I think The Festival is over."

Jack took less that a second to stand up, turning over to look at Hammond. "Sir."

"Permission granted SG-1. Go check it out."

"Thank you sir." Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c gathered their weapons before carefully slipping out of the building. They stopped outside. The camp was a mess, but there were no signs of any animals. Not even remains of dead animals. Nothing to suspect that the last few nights had even happened. "Teal'c, check out the other buildings, while me and Danny scout around some." Teal'c headed of in another direction while Jack and Daniel looked around. "Looks like not much survived." Jack commented when they found the supply tent, or at least the pieces of the supply tent.

"Probably everything that was out in the open was either trashed by the animals or trashed by the hunters."

"O'Neill, the two other buildings appear intact. I think we should secure the Stargate."

"I agree Teal'c. Let's move." They headed of towards the Stargate.

"Jack, do you think that we should tell the others?"

"No Daniel. I think we should let them come out in there own time. If their past few days have been anything like ours, they might shoot us if we come knocking." Daniel reluctantly agreed with Jack's logic. While he wanted to know if they were okay, the phrase 'don't shoot the messenger' kept popping into his mind. Finally they reached the top of the hill where they could see the Stargate. It was activated, but instead of things coming through they saw all the people leaving. They watched remorsefully as they saw some of the people being carried through the gate. Hdeon and his group were the last to leave. Before stepping into the wormhole, they turned towards SG-1 and bowed, before joining their people. "It's over, let's get back to camp."

They started heading back towards camp. A few hours later SG-15 carefully emerged from the other building. Given the all clear, the SGC personnel began the long clean-up process. They couldn't salvage anything that was outside. Fortunately, the third building had remained relatively unscathed. That left them with a few supplies. That would last them for a few days, but not for three weeks. SG-1 and Janet were in Hammond's office discussing options when an airman burst through the door. "Sir. The Stargate is activating again."

"Oh for crying out loud General. Who are we expecting this time? A guy leading a bunch of T-Rex's on a feeding frenzy?" They quickly assumed defensive positions around the gate, determined not to go through another 'festival' again. They were relieved and confused when they recognized a MALP coming through.

"So, are you guys ready to come home?"

  
  


SG-1 sat in the briefing room. They were told it took several hours to bring all the stuff to the planet. They pulled out in less than twenty minutes. It must have been a new record. Of course having most of their stuff thrashed had helped. By now most of the personnel were at home in their comfy beds, but SG-1 refused to leave until they knew how Sam was doing. Janet took Sam to X-Ray as soon as they got back. She discovered the Major did have some internal bleeding, which explained most of Sam's health problems on the planet. Janet took Sam into surgery right away, but promised to tell them as soon as she was finished. Although unwilling to leave her, they did settle for a compromise, they would take a shower, get some decent food, and wait for Janet in the briefing room. "I still don't understand. I thought we were banned for at least a month, not a week."

"I believe I can explain, Dr. Jackson." General Hammond strode into the room and took his place at the head of the table.

"What did the President say sir?"

"The President found it rather hard to understand. To put it mildly, he didn't believe me when I told him all the paperwork was destroyed during the festival."

"Didn't believe the dog ate your homework, huh sir."

"O'Neill, I do believe you are misinformed. There were several species of wolf on that planet, but I did not recognize any type of canine."

"No Teal'c, it was just a phrase. Ask Daniel about it sometime."

"Anyway gentlemen, because the reports were destroyed, we need everyone involved to right as detailed a report as they can." Hammond stopped and looked at the three men, watching until each one nodded. "As to answer your first question Dr. Jackson. It appears that Dr. Warner came up with an idea on how to pump the air out to make the vacuum. They opened the Stargate and sent the air to another planet. That enabled them to cut the time required significantly." He stopped his speech when Dr. Fraiser came through the door. "Doctor, how is Major Carter?"

"She'll be fine sir. There was a small amount of internal damage, which we were able to fix up nicely. Lucky for her it was nothing major, but it was what was causing her high fever and low BP. Her knee probably will need some physical therapy, but I'm going to wait until she's stronger to do anything. All in all General, I'd say she'll be off her feet for the next couple of months."

Hammond nodded. "The Pentagon still wants us to go through with the upgrade. With that in mind, SG-1 you are given two weeks leave. Have your reports finished by the time you get back. Dismissed."

Sam slowly surfaced from the drug induced oblivion. She could hear sounds, the beeping of a heart monitor. For some strange reason that comforted her. She kept her eyes closed, listening to the quiet beeping until she heard footsteps. Opening her eyes she saw her friend walking towards her.

"Hey Sam. How are you feeling?" Janet asked in a quiet voice.

"Like I had a mountain fall on me."

"Well it's nice to know you haven't lost your sense of humor."

"Are we home?" Janet nodded her head as she began to check her vitals. "I thought you said we'd be stuck on that planet for a while. What happened?"

"Sam. It's a..."

"Another long story. Yeah, I get it." She closed her eyes for a moment while Janet finished her examination. "So what's the prognosis Doctor?"

"I think you'll live. Your fever is starting to drop. Hopefully in a couple of days it will be back to normal. We'll still need to work on the knee, but let's hold off on that for a few days." Sam opened her eyes to look at her friend.

"So when can I go home?"

"Ask me in a few days, okay."

"So I take it tonight is out of the question?"

"Definitely."

"Had to ask." She looked around the infirmary and saw the guys sprawled out on the beds for the first time. "Janet, how long have the guys been here?"

"Since you got out of surgery. Don't worry, they're just exhausted."

"Why don't they go home?"

"They wanted to make sure you were okay first."

"But they hate the infirmary."

"I know. Funny thing is they did the same thing on the planet. What happened out there?"

"Ask me in a few days, okay."

"Deal. Now I need you to get some sleep. They'll still be here when you wake up."

"Okay." Sam closed her eyes again and soon exhaustion claimed her and she fell into a peaceful sleep. The next time she opened her eyes, she saw Colonel O'Neill and Daniel playing a game of chess on the next bed. Teal'c was standing next to them, watching them play. "Hey guys. Did ya miss me?"

"Carter, you need to think of something more original, you know that." Jack grinned as he hopped of the bed and stood next to her. "Welcome back Carter."

"Not quite back yet, but I'm getting there."

"Doc says you'll be fine Sam."

"I know. I already had a little chat with Janet." She looked closely at her teammates. It looked like they hadn't slept for a week. "You know, you guys look like crap."

"Look who's calling the kettle black."

"You should go home and get some sleep sir."

"Make you a deal. We'll get some sleep if you do to."

"Deal." Sam closed her eyes and within minutes she was asleep. The guys just stood there watching her for a minute before Jack was pulling them away

"You heard the lady. Off to bed with us." As he reached the doorway, he glanced back at the figure on the bed. Sam had survived. Everything would be all right. SG-1 would be all right. With a smile on his face he followed Daniel and Teal'c out of the mountain to a well deserved sleep.

  
  


The End


End file.
